Facade
by Deliwiel
Summary: Thanks to an accident in a lab, one of Spider-Man's greatest enemies emerges. It's up to Peter to make sure that his friends and family, both old and new, are kept safe from the chaotic destruction this masked villain brings with him. Set in the Homecoming Universe, rated T for safety and paranoia, as well as violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay friends! Here I am, back with another story...I dunno...give it a read before you judge? :D**_

 _ **Though I'm not sure how much I like this first chapter. *shrugs* let me know what you guys think!**_

 _ **Okay also, as I was writing this story, there was one song that just kept playing through my head as I was writing it, so this story is roughly based on the lyrics to Facade (yes, hence the title), from the musical "Jekyll and Hyde."**_

 _ **Lemme know what you think!**_

 _ **I do not own any rights to Spider-Man, Marvel, or Jekyll and Hyde.**_

 _There's a face that we wear_

 _In the cold light of day-_

 _It's society's mask,_

 _It's society's way._

 _And the truth is_

 _That it's all a facade._

The halls of Midtown Tech sounded like a hive of bees when Peter entered, though he didn't pay much attention to what people were whispering behind their hands during first period. It was only during second period, after the whispers _still_ hadn't stopped that Peter turned to one of the girls behind him, who had been one of the worst spreaders of whatever was being said now.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" he asked. She gave him a look that clearly conveyed that she didn't think he was cool enough to be talking to her, but she finally rolled her eyes when he didn't take the hint and turn back around.

"There's a new kid in the school, and you're never gonna guess who it is," she said, eyes alight with the thrill of a new kid. "Actually, you'd probably find it cool because of who his father is," she said after a minute, looking Peter up and down.

"Uuuhhh...is it...does Tony Stark have a long-lost son no one knew about?" Peter asked, completely joking, though there was a small part of him that was slightly worried she was going to say yes.

"Ugh, no. Gosh, what is your obsession with Iron Man?" she asked in slight disgust. "No. The new kid is Harry Osborn, son of Norman Osborn!" she finally told him. Peter twitched as if he'd been given an electric shock, though he tried to hide his physical reaction.

"Oh my gosh," another girl chimed in from across the row. "Have you seen him? He's like, seriously good looking," she said. The girl who had been talking to Peter immediately ignored him as she turned to talk to her friend about the new eye candy in the school. Peter was teenager was okay with that though.

Norman Osborn was the founder of OSCORP, which was basically where most scientists dreamed of working. It didn't matter what kind of scientist you were, whether it was biological, chemical, technological, neurological… anything to do with science, and you could find a division of OSCORP somewhere for you. They had their fingers dipped in many different pies.

Peter had heard of Harry Osborn of course, but no one really seemed to know much about him other than the fact that he was an only child, raised by a single father, and he had been homeschooled his entire life by some of the best tutors in the country. At least until now, it seemed.

Peter wondered why all of a sudden Norman Osborn would send his son to Midtown Tech; granted, it _was_ one of the top high schools in New York. Many of the students at the school were there at least on a partial scholarship, having been scouted out during their middle school years, but to suddenly send a kid who had been homeschooled his whole life to high school was a little odd.

Peter's thoughts of Harry Osborn were pushed to the back of his mind as the teacher walked to the front of the classroom and began lecturing. The buzzing of the whispers quieted slightly, but they didn't die down completely. Everyone was wondering what Harry Osborn was going to be like, though Peter, to his credit, tried to block out the whispering so that he could focus on what was being taught.

 _0-0-0_

Peter didn't think about Osborn again until lunchtime, when he and Ned sat at their usual table. The two friends actually had most of their classes together, but first and second period were the two that they didn't share, meaning lunch was their time to catch up.

"So, did you hear about the new kid?" Ned asked, waggling his eyebrows. Peter had just put a bite of food in his mouth, so he rolled his eyes and held up a finger as he chewed. When he finally had chewed enough that he could talk, Peter nodded.

"Yeah, Harry Osborn," he confirmed around a bite of his breadstick.

"I thought you'd be more excited?" Ned stated, clearly disappointed by Peter's apparent lack of energy towards the new topic, even though it was just the opposite. Peter _was_ excited that the new kid was Harry Osborn; it was cool to be going to school with someone whose dad was as famous as Norman Osborn, but Peter also knew what it was like to constantly be in the spotlight, so he was trying to not seem overly-excited.

"I mean, it's cool and all, but come on. He's just a normal kid, and I bet he gets tired of people staring at him all day," Peter replied with a shrug, though his leg had begun bouncing slightly to release his energy.

"Sooo...what you're saying is that if and/or when you meet him, you wouldn't even be a little excited?" Ned asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion at his friend. "Cuz he goes to our school now. You're more than likely gonna run into him at one point or another."

"No, I mean...I guess...yeah I'd be excited. But I'd at least try to act normal around him," Peter added when Ned let out a triumphant laugh. "He probably feels uncomfortable," Peter pointed out, putting his hands on the table, palms up as he continued his defense. "Think about it: he's been homeschooled his entire life, and while the Osborns aren't exactly down-to-earth, low-profile people, they aren't very public with their private lives," Peter said. "I guess I just feel weird geeking out over someone who's probably been in the spotlight for most of his life. He probably wants a little peace and quiet."

Ned inclined his head, admitting that his friend's reasoning made sense. "I bet you really get how that feels," he added in a conspiratorial whisper. Peter gave his friend a look that was clearly begging him to shut up before he said something that would give Peter's superhero identity away, and thankfully, Ned complied. "I'm just sayin'," he added before dropping the topic.

Out of nowhere, it seemed like once again, the school was filled with buzzing flies as the whispers suddenly grew tenfold. Peter and Ned looked up at the doors and they saw whom they could only assume was Harry Osborn. The kid had entered the cafeteria alone, and Peter could see his cheeks go slightly red as everyone stared at him, whispering not-so-subtly behind their hands.

"Why can't they just leave him alone?" Peter asked quietly to himself, really feeling sympathetic for the kid. Now that he could actually see the young Osborn, Peter's suspicions that Harry just wanted to be a normal kid were practically confirmed as the new kid balked away from the people whispering about him.

"That's the price that comes with being famous," Michelle said. Peter hadn't even known she was listening, though he should have guessed. MJ always seemed to be around and listening in, even when you didn't think she was.

"So what do you think?" Ned asked Michelle.

The young woman looked up from her book and squinted over towards the new kid in school. "Eh. I've seen better-looking," she replied drily, but thankfully quietly as she looked as Harry from a distance. Peter gave the girl a confused and somewhat disapproving look, but decided to ignore her for the moment.

Harry was walking through the lunch room, searching for a seat. He had a brown lunch bag in his hand, and Peter could tell the poor teenager was just looking for somewhere to sit. Many of the girls had scooted to the side and made room for him, whispering and giggling behind their hands, but Harry ignored their pointed invitations to join their table.

As Osborn was walking through the cafeteria, Peter spotted someone in the new kid's path that made his heart start beating a little harder. Flash and his senior buddy, Eddie Brock were staring at Osborn, and they both had a hungry look in their eyes.

"Hey, you're Harry, right?" Eddie called out. Osborn stopped where he was and looked over at the boys who had called out to him.

"Yeah," he said, quieter than the other boys talking to him.

"Come sit with us," Flash offered, grinning the biggest grin he could at the new kid.

"Um...I dunno, it looks a little crowded," Harry politely declined, starting to edge away from the table.

"Oh that's easy to take care of," Flash assured Osborn. "Hey," Flash said, turning and snapping his fingers at one of the boys at his table. "You: leave. Go sit with Parker and his loser friends if there's nowhere else to sit," he said, loudly enough for everyone in the cafeteria to hear it. Peter felt Ned deflate slightly next to him, and his blood boiled, just like it did every time Flash made fun of them.

"You don't have to do that," Harry assured the kid, who looked like he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Yes, you do," Eddie insisted, turning and giving the kid a mean stare.

"No, he _doesn't_ ," Harry said, much firmer this time. "I'm gonna find somewhere else to sit," he stated.

"Are you seriously turning us down?" Flash asked incredulously.

"Look, there's just no room at the table, and he's already eating his food," Harry said, trying to stay calm, though Peter could tell by Harry's body language that the kid was ready for a fight.

Eddie smacked Harry's lunch bag out of his hands, sending the contents spilling on the floor. There was a meat sandwich that looked some sort of greek wrap, a banana, and a couple of granola bars.

That was when Peter stood up and made his way through the cafeteria. "Leave him alone, guys," he said as he reached the table. Harry had tensed up even more, his fists balled at his side, and Flash and Eddie had both stood up, looking like they were ready for a fight as well. The entire student body had gone silent for the first time that day as they watched the exchange. Everyone in the room seemed like they were holding their breath, waiting for the fight they were all expecting.

"Back off, Parker," Eddie snapped. Peter didn't reply; instead, he just crouched down and began picking up the fallen food items from the ground.

"Leave them there," Flash ordered. Peter ignored his fellow Decathlon member, picking up the last piece of food and sticking it back in the bag before straightening back up.

"Hey, are you deaf, Parker?" Eddie asked, trying to smack the bag again, out of Peter's hands this time. Peter's spider reflexes kicked in though, and he quickly moved the bag out of reach.

"No, I'm not deaf," he said quietly. "You might be though. I think that Harry here said that he was going to find somewhere else to sit, but you didn't seem to get that part of the conversation," Peter replied, slightly more heatedly.

"Hey," Harry interrupted quietly, gently taking his lunch back from Peter. "Thanks," he said, wiggling his bag a little to show he was holding onto it tightly. "It's fine," he assured his fellow student. Peter wanted so badly to teach Eddie and Brock a lesson, but he knew that wasn't the right thing to do...at least, not in school. So he simply nodded mutely and turned, going back to his table. Ned was staring at him, eyes slightly wide.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Ned whispered.

"I'm just sick of those guys acting like they own the place," Peter griped quietly so that only the people at their table could hear.

"So they're always like that?" a new voice joined in. Peter jumped slightly, looking up to see that Harry Osborn had followed him over to their table. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked, gesturing at the empty seat across from Peter.

"Wh-uh, no that's, uh, that's fine," Peter said, stumbling over his words a little. He hadn't expected the new kid to follow him and sit by them, but Peter wasn't about to turn him away. Harry sat down, and Peter answered his question. "And I mean, they can be jerks sometimes, but I'm sure they're not all bad. It's just-"

"Nah," another voice interrupted Peter. The three boys looked over at Michelle, who was still looking down at her book as she continued to contradict Peter. "They're always that way," she confirmed. "Peter's just too nice to say anything like that," she added, finally looking up at them.

"I figured as much," Harry said with a small smile. "They've just got a sort of...feeling about them," he said with a shrug. There were a few moments of awkward silence as the three boys fiddled with their food and took a few bites, then Peter spoke again.

"I'm Peter, by the way," he said. "Peter Parker."

"And I'm Ned Leeds," chimed in the other boy with a friendly smile. "That's Michelle," he added, pointing at the girl sitting a few seats away. Michelle merely threw up a peace sign in greeting, nodding her chin a little as well.

"I'm Harry, but I'm guessing you guys already knew that?" Harry surmised. He took their awkward silence as an affirmative. "It's fine," he said nonchalantly. "You kinda get used to it, people knowing who you are wherever you go," he said.

"That doesn't mean it's not uncomfortable still," Peter pointed out. Harry gave him an odd look.

"You're right," he agreed slowly. "Which I guess is why I came over here. You didn't seem like you went over there because you wanted to help Harry Osborn. I get the feeling you'd do that for anybody."

"You got that right," Ned said, nudging his best friend in the arm. "That's just who Peter is. Always lookin' to help!"

"That's a good quality to have," Harry commented.

"Thanks," Peter said quietly. He knew how to take praise as Spider-Man, but sometimes being Peter Parker was a little more difficult than being his arachnid counterpart.

They finished their lunches in a slightly awkward silence, then the bell alerting the students to get to their next class rang.

"So, uh, what's your next class?" Peter asked Harry as they threw their garbage away. Harry pulled out his crumpled schedule out of his pocket and glanced down the list, finding third period.

"Looks liiiike...history, with a Mr. Bordof?" the new kid replied, sounding unsure if he was reading the schedule correctly.

"That's our next class," Ned said with a large grin.

"Mind if I stick with you guys then?" Harry asked, somewhat hesitantly, as if he were worried that the two boys he'd sat with at lunch would suddenly ditch him.

"Nah, that's cool," Peter said.

"Thanks," Harry said, relief evident on his face. "Hey, if it's okay, would you be able to show me where the rest of the classes are after school gets out?" he asked as they neared the history room. "It's fine if you can't," he added quickly.

"I've got something with my family after school, sorry," Ned replied apologetically. Peter thought about his suit in his backpack, and how badly he wanted to get out and roam the streets of New York, but he realized that being Spider-Man meant helping those who needed it, even if he wasn't in the suit while doing it.

"I can show you around," he said. A smile flitted across Harry's face, and he once again looked relieved.

"Thanks," he said as they set their books down on their desks and sat in their chairs. "I got the tour on Saturday, but...right now, everything kinda looks the same," he admitted with an embarrassed laugh.

"I get that," Peter agreed, grinning himself. There were still a few more minutes until class actually started, so Ned struck up another topic with the new kid.

"So are you pretty excited to be here?" he asked. "Or are you nervous? Why did your dad decide to send you here? What's your favorite subject?"

"Ned," Peter cut in, feeling bad for Harry. Here he was, on his first day of public school, and he was already being interrogated about his life. Peter loved Ned like a brother, but he knew from experience how grilling and stressful some of his friend's questions could be, especially when one felt like they were being put on the spot.

"Nah, it's fine," Harry assured Peter before turning back to Ned. "To be honest, I feel a bit like a fish outta water here," he admitted.

"Whaddya mean?" Ned asked, knitting his eyebrows together as he stared at the new kid.

"Well, you guys are all pretty smart, right? That's how you got in?"

"Uh, I guess...yeah," Peter said, not wanting to sound too prideful regarding how smart he was.

"Well," Harry continued. "This is one of the top schools in New York, and graduating from here looks good on a college application, at least according to Dad," he said, sounding somewhat bitter. "You guys got in on smarts; I got in because of my name. My dad is the smart one; me, not so much," he admitted, sounding ashamed.

"Well, if you need it, I can help you out with your homework," Peter offered, completely out of the blue. He began yelling at himself internally. He was mad because first of all, he had no idea if offering to help Harry with his homework would offend the kid or not, and second, Peter was Spider-Man. Sometimes he barely had time to complete his own homework. There was something about Harry though that just sort of drew Peter to him, though he couldn't quite say why.

"Yeah, Peter's like, the smartest guy in school," Ned said, praising his friend.

"I wouldn't want to bother you," Harry said. "I mean, I can get tutors if I need to," he said, though he didn't sound enthusiastic about the idea at all.

"Nah, it's cool," Peter said, waving his hand. "I, uh...I'll write down the times I can help you out, if that's okay with you?" he asked. Harry's eyes brightened.

"Thank you so much, Peter," he said as Peter scribbled on a piece of paper times that would work for him to help Harry.

"No problem," Peter said with a smile as he handed the paper over. Ned looked between them, and he made eye contact with Peter, waggling his eyebrows again at his friend. His expression was just screaming at Peter, 'told ya you'd be more excited!', and Peter rolled his eyes at Ned while Harry was bending over, putting the paper in one of his textbooks.

Peter grimaced; he knew that he was stretching himself thin, what with being Spider-Man, training with Mr. Stark, chores at home, and now tutoring Harry Osborn. The upside though, was that Peter would be able to do his homework at the same time he was helping Harry study.

"Alright, class, let's begin," Mr. Bordof said as he strode into the classroom, throwing the core of an apple into the trashcan as he headed for the whiteboard. "Who can tell me the names of the three authors of the Federalist Papers?"

 _0-0-0_

The final bell rang, and there was a mad dash for the door as all the students tried to make a break for freedom.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Peter!" Ned called out as he hurried out to the parking lot where his family was waiting in their small car.

"See ya," Peter called out, raising his hand at his friend's back. He walked over to the statue of the tiger sitting in the front foyer, which was the spot he and Harry had agreed to meet at after school for the tour. A few minutes after the bell rang, Peter looked up from his phone and saw Harry hurrying towards him.

"Hey, so sorry!" the new kid called out. "This school is like a maze! I got turned around and ended up back in the cafeteria, but I'm here now!"

"Don't worry about it," Peter said, grinning at Harry to let the new kid know that he wasn't upset about being kept waiting. Harry handed Peter his class schedule, and they began walking down the hallway side by side.

"Okay...down this hall, right here, this is Ms. Coffman's classroom," Peter said, leading Osborn down the hallway and stopping outside the door. "Ms. Coffman teaches math, and she's really good. She's strict, and she's not afraid to call you out on your BS, but she's a good teacher," Peter said. Harry looked a little worried at the fact that the teacher would call him out if he was wrong, but he didn't say anything.

"Aaand if we go this way," Peter said, walking down the hallway a little ways before stopping outside a door. "This is science, with Mr. Bedroe."

They got through a few more rooms, and Peter was just leading Harry towards the last part of the tour when a voice called out to the two boys.

"Parker!"

The boys turned around and saw the principal coming their way. "What are you boys still doing here?" he asked as he neared them, slightly suspicious. With kids as smart as the ones at his school, he was always a little suspicious when he saw some of them wandering the halls, especially when they weren't supposed to be there. There had been a particularly nasty incident several years ago involving the science lab, two very smelly and reactive chemicals kept under lock and key, and a fuse that led to half the science lab needing to be rebuilt, so the principal was always slightly suspicious.

"Nothin'," Peter replied with a shrug. "Just helping Harry figure out where his classes are," he explained. The principal looked between the two young men, and after a minute, his expression eased up slightly.

"Thank you, Parker," he said with a smile. "Well, Mr. Osborn, how was your first day?" he asked Harry.

"Uh, it was different than I was expecting," Harry admitted. "It's nice to have Pete here to help me out though," Harry said, clapping Peter on the back.

"I'm glad," the principal said. "Though, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the grounds now; we're trying to lock up, and the only ones allowed here now are marching band members, along with janitorial staff."

"I'm sorry, sir, we'll go right now," Harry said, cheeks going red again, but Peter cut him off.

"Well, we're almost done," Peter interrupted, showing the principal the schedule they were following. "I've just gotta show him where the shop class is," he pointed out. The older man looked at where Peter was pointing on the paper, and he sighed.

"I can let you stay for five more minutes, but then I need to have you leave," he compromised.

"Yes sir," Peter agreed. The principal turned and walked down the hallway, and Peter beckoned for Harry to follow him. "Shop's just down this way," he said, leading the way.

"Why're you doin' this for me, Peter?" Harry asked as he caught up to his classmate.

"Mmm...whaddya mean?"

"All of this," Harry replied, gesturing at the school in general. "You don't know me, but first you stood up for me at lunch, you offered to help me with my homework, you're showing me around the school after-hours, even though I'm sure you've got a life you have to get to, and now you're asking for a little more time to finish giving me the tour," he expounded. Peter shrugged.

"I dunno," Peter replied. "I guess...I guess I used to be in your shoes, and I know how it feels. Now I just try to help whenever I can."

"Well, it means a lot to me," Harry said gratefully. It was Peter's turn for his cheeks to go slightly darker than normal, and he didn't answer; once again, he wished that accepting gratitude as Peter Parker came as easy to him as it did while he was Spider-Man.

"Um, this is the shop," he said as they reached their final destination. "It's honestly a pretty easy class, and the teacher usually doesn't even pay attention," he added in a low voice.

"Sounds like fun," Harry said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Peter chuckled and nodded in agreement, and the two of them turned and walked back the way they came. A buzzing came from Harry's pocket, and he pulled out a phone, grimacing as he read the text on the screen.

"Everything okay?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. My dad's here to pick me up; I guess my driver didn't tell him that I was staying late, and he doesn't sound very happy," Harry explained. Peter kept silent, not sure of what to say. Everything he'd heard about Norman Osborn said that the man was decent enough, but that he didn't have a lot of patience, and Peter hoped that he wouldn't be too hard on Harry.

As they walked towards the exit, Peter poked his head into the Principal's office. "We're going now, Mr. Moriata," he called out. The older man looked up and smiled, nodding and waving as the two boys walked out the front door.

At the foot of the steps there was a gorgeous, sleek black sports car waiting, and the back door opened as soon as the two boys exited the school. Norman Osborn was an intimidating-looking man. Standing at least 6'5", he had broad shoulders, and looked like he could bench press both Harry and Peter without breaking a sweat. "Harrison," Osborn greeted, sounding slightly curt.

"Hey dad," Harry greeted. "Sorry I didn't tell you; I let Kevin know, but I should have told you too."

"It's over, I'm here now," Osborn said with a sigh, waving his hand as if he were brushing away his son's apology. Harry noticed his father staring pointedly at Peter, and the young man hurried to introduce his new friend.

"Dad, this is Peter Parker," he said, gesturing the kid next to him.

"Mr. Osborn, it's awesome to meet you," Peter said, trying not to sound too excited as he moved forward.

"Mr. Parker," Norman Osborn said as he offered his hand, which Peter shook. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's good to meet you, too," Peter said before he remembered that he had already said that. "Um, I mean… I'm sorry, Harry's late because of me," he said, quickly trying to move on from his blunder. "I offered to give him a tour of the school, and I guess we lost track of time," he said, lying about the fact that he was the one that offered the tour.

"Well, that was very good of you," Osborn said. "I'm glad my son was able to find some friends. That's one of the reasons I decided to send him here, hoping that he could meet a few people." Osborn looked over at his son. "Harry, we have to go. I need to drop you off at the house; I've got a meeting at OSCORP that I'm going to be late to."

"Sure Dad," Harry said. Both boys got the subtle hint that Mr. Osborn was dropping, implying that he was going to be late to the meeting because he had to pick his son up, and Harry knew that if he kept his father waiting any longer, the older man would lose his patience. "Anyway, thanks again for the tour, Pete," he said. "Um, are… are we still good to study tomorrow?" he asked, as if worried that his new friend wasn't going to keep his promise about studying with him now that he'd met Harry's father.

"Yeah, I'm good with that," Peter replied.

"Study?" Norman asked, raising an eyebrow at his son.

"Yeah, uh, Peter agreed to help me study," Harry said, not sounding sure of himself anymore.

"Peter, you don't need to do that," Osborn said, turning to Peter and shaking his head. "I can hire tutors for that sort of thing; Harry doesn't need to bother you with such trivial matters."

"Really, Mr. Osborn, I don't mind," Peter said. "I was the one that offered to help. I've gotta do the homework anyways, so I just figured why not help?"

Osborn got an intrigued look in his eye. "Once again, that's very kind of you," he said finally, nodding his slowly. "How about you come by for dinner on the nights that you help Harry?" Norman offered.

"Aw, that's super nice of you, but I gotta help my aunt with dinner some nights," Peter replied.

"There's always enough," Norman said, waving his hand again. "We can send some home with you. I insist," he said, cutting off Peter's protests. "It's the least I can do to thank you for helping Harry."

Peter hesitated a moment, but he knew that turning down the CEO was probably not the wisest choice. "Okay," he finally agreed. "Thank you, Mr. Osborn," he added. He glanced at his watch and blanched slightly when he saw how long school had been out. He suddenly felt an itching desire to swing from rooftops. "Um, I gotta go, but uh, I'll see you tomorrow, Harry," he said as he began walking backwards.

"See ya, Pete," the younger Osborn replied. "Thanks again for everything!"

Peter watched as the two Osborns got into their car, then waited until they had driven around the corner before he ran for the closest alley. Two minutes later, Spider-Man emerged from the narrow backstreet, webbing a nearby building and pulling himself to the top.

"Hey Karen," he greeted his AI.

"Hey Peter."

"Got anything for me?" he asked as he scanned the city from the top of the building.

"A police car chase has been going on for several blocks by 10th and Broadway," she replied. Peter stood up and stretched before he fired a web at the building across the street.

"Cool. Let's go stop a car chase."

 _0-0-0_

"Sorry I'm late," Osborn said as he walked into the lab. Tristin and Tessa, his two scientists working with him on the project, turned around.

"Mr. Osborn," Tristin greeted.

"Tell me something good," Osborn said, discarding his everyday coat and donning a white lab coat.

Tristin was a forty-seven year old mechanical engineer; he used to work for Stark Industries, but quit when the billionaire pulled out of the weapons manufacturing business and became Iron Man. Tristin had then gone to work for OSCORP, and quickly worked his way through the ranks due to his high IQ and genius ideas for tech; he was the one who spoke first.

"I've got the exoskeleton and glider finished. I figured out how to keep the rider on the glider," he added excitedly. "All we needed were some strong electromagnets in the boots of the armor, and it sticks beautifully! They're both in the back lab waiting for a few last touches," he said.

"Excellent," Osborn said, obviously pleased. "And you haven't told anyone about it, correct?" he asked, staring at the man suddenly with a stern eye.

"No sir, not one soul," Tristin promised.

"Very good." Osborn turned to Tessa. "And what about your little project?" he asked. Tessa was a stick-thin woman, somewhere close to fifty-eight years old. Her background in chemical and biological engineering made her perfect for the project that Osborn was working on.

"We're close," she said, wanting to give her boss some good news. "I acquired some of that new material found, Isotope 8, and it appears to be an excellent stabilizer," she said. "I've currently got a batch of the serum cooking right now, and it should be ready for further testing sometime tomorrow," she explained proudly.

"That _is_ good news," Osborn replied, looking more pleased with every passing word spoken. "When will it be ready for human trials?"

Tessa looked shocked. "Mr. Osborn, I don't think it's anywhere near being close for human trials," she replied. Osborn's excited face suddenly took on a darker tone, and Tessa hurried to try to make him less displeased. "Besides, even if it were ready for that stage, where would we find someone willing to be a lab rat who could keep it secret until we were ready to come out with it?" she asked, crossing her arms. Osborn mirrored her and crossed his arms as he stared at the woman.

"You're looking at him," he said, as if it were the most simple thing in the world. Tessa and Tristin's jaws both hit the floor, and they stared at their boss incredulously.

"Mr. Osborn, you...you can't be serious?" Tessa asked, though she already knew the answer to her question.

"When have I ever not been serious about something?" he asked gravely.

"But sir, we have no idea of the effects it could have!" she insisted. "It's too dangerous. I can't allow you to do this, sir," she said, standing up a little straighter. Tristin was watching the exchange with nervous eyes, unsure of what to do, or whose side to take.

"You can, and you will," Osborn said firmly. "Run computer simulations through the night, with the possible outcomes. If there's a high chance that things could go south, I'll reconsider, but right now, the board is breathing down my neck. OSCORP's been needing something huge like this to get it back up where it should be in the stock market, and this could be the thing we're looking for," he said.

Tessa looked like she was going to argue more, but Osborn cut her off before she could even begin.

"Tessa, I have complete faith in you. There's a reason I came to _you_ for this project, instead of the hundreds of other people I could have gone to," he said. "I didn't make the wrong choice, did I?" he asked, not feeling guilty at all for the emotional manipulation. Tessa paused for a moment, her mouth open slightly.

"No, sir," she said quietly after a few seconds.

"Good," Osborn said, rubbing his hands together. "Give everyone the day off tomorrow; I don't want anyone in the building while we're doing this," he said. With that, their meeting was adjourned. Osborn turned and walked out of the lab, leaving Tessa and Tristin alone in the lab, both of them questioning the sanity of their boss.

 _ **So...There's the first chapter. It was long, I know, and I'm sorry if you don't like longer chapters...but I just couldn't find a decent spot to end it.**_

 ** _And I know there wasn't any sort of action at all, and that's frustrating, but I promise that it is coming! We just had to set up the story line and introduce the characters :)_**

 ** _What do you guys think? Should I keep going? Like it? Hate it? Any feedback? (Just no flames, remember ;) )_**


	2. Chapter 2

_There's a face that we hide_

 _Till the nighttime appears_

 _And what's hiding inside,_

 _Behind all of our fears_

 _Is our true self,_

 _Locked inside a facade._

"What's this?" May asked the next morning as she came out of her room to find her nephew was in the process of making pancakes and scrambled eggs.

"Uh...breakfast?" Peter replied, still holding the spatula as he stared at the food he'd cooked. "It's this thing where it's like, the most important meal of the day, or something like that," he said with a smile, dodging his aunt's light smack at his snark.

"I know _what_ it is, but why are _you_ up so early cooking breakfast?" May asked.

"There's this new kid at school, and I offered to help him study a few nights a week after school, and his dad invited me to dinner on the nights that I help him. Since tonight is our first night studying together, but it was my night to cook, I thought I'd uh, make breakfast instead," he said, biting his lip in anticipation of what his aunt was going to say. He dished up a plate of eggs for her, adding two pancakes to the plate as well before he handed it over. She accepted it gratefully and leaned back against the counter, grabbing a fork from their dish drain as she began to eat.

"You're helping someone study?" she asked as she took a bite of the scrambled eggs. "What about your whole 'night job'? These are really good, by the way," she added as she swallowed her first bite, gesturing at the eggs with her fork. "Pass the salt?"

Peter reached into the cupboard and grabbed their salt shaker, passing it over to his aunt as he replied. "It's only gonna be for an hour or two when I do go help him," he said. "Besides, I think he could use a friend, and isn't that part of my whole schtick? Friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man?" Peter asked.

"I'm not complaining," May said, holding her free hand up. "If you're off the streets doing things for school, goodness knows my life will be a little less stressful. So who is this new kid?"

"It's um, Harry Osborn," Peter said, shoveling his own pancakes into his mouth. He had to leave for school in a few minutes, and it had taken a lot longer than he thought it would to get the hang of cooking a pancake without burning each side.

May stared at her nephew, eyes slightly wide in surprise. "Osborn?" she clarified. "As in son of Norman Osborn, CEO of OSCORP, Harry Osborn?"

"Nope, I don't think there's any relation to those Osborns at all," Peter quipped at his aunt, though she could tell he was joking around with her and not meaning to be disrespectful.

"What is it with you and rich, billionaire CEOs inviting you over?" May asked, polishing off the last of her breakfast.

"I dunno, I guess I'm just lovable," Peter said with a shrug and a smile, setting his plate down in the sink and grabbing his backpack from where he'd dumped it on the floor the previous night. He started to walk past his aunt for the door, but as he passed her, she grabbed him from behind in a hug and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"You're darn right you're lovable," she confirmed, ruffling his hair as she released him.

"Thanks, May," Peter said, turning around and giving his aunt a full hug, kissing her cheek as well. "I'll see you later tonight!" he said as he opened the door.

"Have fun," May called out as the door was shut.

 _0-0-0_

Harry sat with Ned, Peter, and by default, Michelle at lunch again, and Peter was glad to see that the new kid seemed to be a little more comfortable with everything than he had been the day before. Flash and Eddie were shooting death glares at their table, but Peter decided to ignore them, which seemed to irk them even more. Thankfully, they didn't do anything stupid, and Peter, Ned, Harry, and Michelle at their lunch in relative peace.

"Hey Pete," Harry said suddenly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "Let me get your number, and I'll text you my address."

Peter recited off his number to Harry, who compiled a text message and sent it. A few moments later, Peter's phone vibrated on the table, and he looked at the cracked screen.

"Thanks man," Peter said, picking up his phone and adding Harry's number to his contacts.

"Ned, you're more than welcome to come too," Harry said, turning to Peter's other friend. "And Michelle, you-"

"Pass, thanks," Michelle interrupted without looking up from her book. Harry stared at the girl quizzically; he didn't get her at all.

"What are you guys doing?" Ned asked.

"Pete's gonna help me with my homework tonight," Harry explained.

"I mean, I wouldn't wanna impose," Ned said with a shrug, though Peter could tell his friend looked a little put-out, thinking Osborn was just inviting him to be polite.

"Please," Harry said. "It's nice being able to say that I have friends coming over, and we'll have plenty of food, so you could come for dinner too," he said. Ned still looked like he was going to say no, so Peter cut in.

"One of the things we're going over is the history assignment," he said. "You've always been better at history than I have, so I bet Harry'd be more excited to have your help with that than mine," he pointed out.

Ned looked slightly embarrassed at Peter's praise, but he finally shrugged his shoulders, pretending to be super nonchalant about the whole situation. "I'll check with my mom and see if it's okay," he said, pulling out his own phone and shooting off a quick text to his mother. A few minutes later, his phone dinged. "She wants to know what time it's at," he said.

"I think we said 6:30, didn't we Pete?" Harry asked, looking to Peter, who nodded in confirmation.

Ned sent the reply to his mother, and after waiting another few minutes, she responded again. "She says it's alright," Ned announced with a smile as he read his mother's text.

"Great!" Harry said, looking more and more comfortable with each passing moment. "Well, I guess you could just ride with Peter over then?" he asked.

Ned and Peter shared a look; since they weren't studying until 6:30, Ned knew Peter was going out being Spider-Man until then.

"Maybe," Peter replied. "I mean, I'm gonna be out and about, and May works until 8 or so, so she won't be able to drive us. I'll probably just, uhm, make my way over there. Take the train, or something."

"Yeah, I'll just get my mom to drop me off when she goes for her shift at work tonight," Ned replied cheerfully.

"Okay," Harry said, looking slightly confused. "Well, I'll make sure to let Dad know we've got someone else coming for dinner. You saw how he is when people don't tell him things," he added, directing the last sentence at Peter.

"Yeah, doesn't seem to like it very much," Peter agreed. "Probably made surprise birthday parties a little harder, huh?"

Harry chuckled. "You have no idea."

The bell rang, letting the teenagers know they needed to get to classes, so the group of friends split up. "See ya at 6:30," Peter called out to Harry, who held up his hand in farewell and confirmation. As Peter watched his friend walk down the hallway, he felt a small feeling of peace come over him.

While there was still a bit of tension surrounding the new kid, Peter knew he was feeling more and more accepted, and from experience, Peter knew that was one of the biggest things when you went to a new school. After he'd moved in with Aunt May and Uncle Ben when his parents left, he'd been that new kid; he knew exactly how Harry felt. Peter knew he wouldn't have been able to make it through his elementary and middle school years if Ned hadn't been there and befriended him, and Peter hoped that he'd be able to make that difference by being Harry's friend now.

 _0-0-0_

"Is everything ready?" Osborn asked as he walked into the lab, taking off his coat and tossing it onto a nearby chair.

"Yes, sir," Tessa said shortly. Tristin was over by the machine, making sure everything was working correctly, and he glanced over at his boss and co-worker. Tessa was still upset that Osborn was forcing her to do the test so soon, but both scientists also knew that Osborn could ruin them if they didn't do what he wanted.

"And how did the computer simulations go?"

"About as well as we could hope, with how little we have to go on," Tessa replied, stressing the last bit of her sentence, hoping against hope that she'd be able to derail Osborn's insistence that they test their new serum on him.

"Good. Let's get to it, then," Osborn said, obviously either not getting Tessa's drift, or (a more likely option) was simply choosing to ignore it. Osborn took his shirt off, leaving nothing but an tank top on underneath. Immediately, goosebumps began to rise on his skin, and he looked at his scientists, raising his eyebrows. "It's a little cold in here, don't you think?" he observed as he looked around, spotting the thermostat, which was set to sixty-two degrees.

"For the amount of work these machines are going to put out, trust me. You'll want it as cold as it can be," Tessa said curtly.

Osborn thought about it and shrugged, motioning for Tristin to open the door.

"Mr. Osborn, I _really_ don't think that we should be doing this," Tessa said, trying one last time to get her boss to abandon his crazy idea. "Nothing good has ever come from scientists doing these sorts of experiments on themselves!"

"There's a first time for everything. Besides, for advances to be made, risks must be taken," Osborn retorted as he stepped into the glass container. Tessa's face fell as she realized there would be no changing her boss's mind, and she stopped her vocal protesting. As she walked over to grab the vials of serum, she turned on a small recording device and began recording the date, time, and steps the three of them were taking for her scientific notes.

While she did that, Tristin walked into the glass container to help strap his boss into the machine. Straps were secured around Osborn's biceps, wrists, thighs, calves, and chest, as well as one around his forehead.

"Sir, there's still time to call it off," Tristin said quietly. "If the shareholders want something, we can give them the glider and exoskeleton," he offered.

"Thank you, Tristin, for your concern," Osborn said as the last strap was buckled into place. "But I'm afraid the stockholders wouldn't be as happy with the glider as they would with the OZ enhancement serum," he pointed out. "People like Stark are always coming out with new armored technology; heck, Stark created a machine to fight the Hulk. A flying machine with the exoskeleton wouldn't be enough to impress the shareholders or the board members. However, if we are able to present the OZ enhancement serum along _with_ the glider and suit, that might be enough to grab their attention."

"But the OZ serum isn't designed to be a long-lasting drug," Tristin pointed out.

"Precisely," Osborn said with a smirk. "Imagine it. Giving it to soldiers so they can complete a mission, but they're not stuck in the same juiced up body for the rest of their lives. They can have the edge to do what's needed, but at the end of the day, they can go home to their families just as normal as they were when they left that morning," Osborn explained, his eyes alight with the idea of how much this new enhancement drug could help.

Tristin couldn't argue about how effective it would be, but he was still wary to try it on his boss.

"We're all set," Tessa announced, coming over to the two men. "Is the machine ready?" she asked Trstin.

"Ready to rock and roll," Tristin said, trying to lighten the mood. When Osborn and Tessa simply stared at him with deadpan stares, he cleared his throat. "Yeah, it's ready to go," he amended.

"Let's start small," Osborn said. "A half dose should do the trick for now," he instructed Tessa, who nodded stiffly. Tristin made sure one last time that all the restraints were in place, and then he and Tessa walked out of the container, shutting the door and locking it behind them. The two of them walked over to the main computer, entering different numbers and codes into the machine.

"Ready to begin injection," Tessa said, holding her hand over the 'Enter' key while she looked up at their boss. Osborn took a deep breath before he replied.

"Let's do this."

 _0-0-0_

Peter glanced at his watch. It was just after 6:10, and he decided it was probably time to grab his backpack from the alley he'd stowed it in and change back into normal clothes if he wanted to make it to the Osborn's house on time. He had just started swinging his way towards his backpack's hiding place when Karen suddenly announced, "Incoming call from: Harry Osborn."

Peter accepted the phone call, more grateful than ever for the hands-off phone system his suit was equipped with. "Hey Harry, I'm on my way," Peter greeted as he answered his phone. As he waited for his new friend to answer, he continued swinging through the streets, but suddenly his senses went on high alert, and he glanced around, trying to pinpoint where the disturbance was coming from.

"Actually Peter, I can't do anything tonight," came Harry's slightly frantic-sounding reply.

"Hey, are you okay?" Peter asked as he heard how upset his friend sounded.

"I'm fine, it's just...there was an accident at OSCORP, and we can't get ahold of Dad or anyone," Harry explained.

"Wait, what's happening at OSCORP?" Peter asked, pausing in his swinging and sticking to the side of a building. He glanced over in the direction where the OSCORP building was, and he felt his stomach sink to the bottom of his feet as he saw a plume of smoke rising into the sky, coming from the OSCORP tower.

"I dunno, but the alarms just started going off, and when they go off at OSCORP, Dad has them set to go off here too, just so that he can know about everything that happens. Dad's not here at the house, though, and he's not answering his phone. I'm so sorry I have to bail on you, Pete," Harry apologized finally.

"Hey man, don't worry about it," Peter insisted. "This is way more important. I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay?"

"Okay. And hey, Pete," Harry said, grabbing the Spider's attention before he disconnected the call.

"Hmm?" Peter asked, already webbing a nearby building to begin his journey to OSCORP.

"Thanks for being so understanding."

"Of course, man. I'm sure everything's going to be fine. I hope you get ahold of your dad soon," he added. Harry thanked his friend, and the call was disconnected. Peter focused his full attention on getting to the OSCORP building as fast as he could. He swung from billboards, skyscrapers, and at one point, he had to drop onto the top of a bus before leaping to the closest tall building again.

When he finally reached OSCORP, he perched on the corner of a nearby roof as he observed the scene. There was already a decent crowd of people on the street below, including cops and firemen. Most of the smoke seemed to be coming from the top floors, and Peter knew that help wouldn't make it up there in time. He jumped off the rooftop and webbed a hovering helicopter, giving himself momentum before swinging towards one of the windows the smoke seemed to be coming from. The glass was already partially shattered, so when Peter made contact with it, he got through without using much force. He used his excess momentum to tuck himself into a roll before he came to a stop in a crouched position, his fingers splayed slightly on the floor.

The wall crawler blocked out all the noises that he could and simply listened, straining his ears for any sign of life. Finally, a noise to his left grabbed his attention, and he quickly made his way through the thick smoke.

"Hello?" he called out, trying to peer through the smoke. He coughed as he inhaled some of the smoke, but when there was no answer, he tried again. "Hello?" Still, no response came to his hailing, and Peter decided to try something else. "Karen, can you find any life forms?"

His AI did as requested, and soon the display screen on Peter's lenses pointed out where the people were. There were two figures lying prone on the ground next to a large glass container, and when Peter got closer, he realized that there was also someone _inside_ the container. The young man thought quickly; the fire around them was getting bigger and bigger with each passing moment, and he knew he didn't have time to make two trips.

Before he could move, the ground began shaking, and Peter's senses told him to jump out of the way. He lunged forward, pushing himself into the two people on the ground in front of him as a section of wall collapsed where he'd been. Peter panted, coughing again as his heavy breathing caused him to inhale more smoke, but he knew he had to push his own discomforts aside.

Making a split-second decision, he grabbed the two unconscious people in front of him, setting them on the ground back to back before webbing them together. After making sure the webs were thick enough to hold the two adults, he knew it was time for the person inside the container. He backed up a few paces to get a running start; once he reached the optimal distance according to Karen, he ran straight at the container. As he ran, he bent down and scooped up a piece of metal piping from the floor, straightening back up and throwing it at the glass with all his might. When the debris made contact with the glass, it sent cracks splintering up the container, giving Peter a good contact point.

The teenager jumped at the glass, curling into a ball right before he hit. He hissed as he felt something slice through his suit and felt something warm start to trickle down his arm. The rest of the sharp glass shards rained down around him and the person on the inside, and while Peter tried to cover the unconscious man as much as he could, he knew that wounds from the glass would be minimal compared to what was going to happen if he didn't get everyone out of the building ASAP. He gripped the unconscious person inside by the shoulder, turning him over so he could get a better hold on him. When Peter saw who it was inside the container, he paused in disbelief and shock.

"Mr. Osborn," he muttered. "Guess this is why you're not answering your phone," he added, confused as to why the CEO himself was inside the glass container. There was something that looked like a vertical operating table inside the container, and there were straps on the ground that Peter assumed used to be attached to the table, but he shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the matter at hand, which was getting Mr. Osborn and the other two out of the building before it exploded.

Peter could smell gas around him, and he began to feel the pressure in the room building; he knew their time was limited. He hoisted Osborn up onto one shoulder and jumped through the hole he'd created in the glass, quickly stepping over to the other two unconscious forms he'd webbed together. When he reached them, he set Osborn down next to them with his back against their as well before firing even more web at the three of them, sticking them together. Once he was sure the webbing around the three of them was tight enough, he grabbed part of the web and lifted the three adults up. He used his uninjured arm, so carrying the three of them through the wreckage wasn't as bad as it could have been, though he did wonder how he was going to get everyone down to the ground safely. As he hurried over to the window he'd crashed through earlier, he double checked with his AI to make sure that these three were the only ones on this floor at least.

"Karen," he panted as he navigated his way through the debris and wreckage. "Is there anyone else that I didn't get?"

"My scans show no additional life forms inside the building," the AI responded. That confused Peter; OSCORP was a huge company, operating out of a huge building that employed hundreds of people. Why were these three the only ones inside?

His musings were cut short as they finally reached the window, the young man glanced down, eyes widening slightly under his mask. It was at least a forty story drop, and while Peter figured his re-installed parachute would kick in and deploy, he didn't know if the material would be able to support the other three passengers he was carrying.

The teenager looked around quickly, his spider senses alerting him to the fire closing in behind him. Just when he was getting ready to take a chance and web the building across the street, a helicopter appeared, hovering just above the window and giving the web-slinger the chance to stick his webs to one of the foot steps on the bottom of the helicopter.

As he hung onto the web with his injured arm, the helicopter began to descend. He was glad he was simply able to hang in place while the chopper lowered them down, because even with his super strength, the arm holding Osborn and the others had begun to shake. His injured arm had begun throbbing as well, but he knew he should be able to hold on until the touched down.

The helicopter was a few stories away from the fire when Peter felt the hair on his arms and the back of his neck rise, alerting him that there was something wrong. He looked up just in time to see the window they'd escaped from get blown completely out of the wall as a massive explosion pushed a wall of flames from the window.

Glass and brick rained down on the helicopter and it's unorthodox-riding passengers, and the machine was thrown to the side. Peter felt his grip on the three people he'd rescued slip, and his injured arm started shaking as well as the helicopter continued its wild descent. A rather large piece of brick bounced off Peter's shoulder, and while that was nothing compared to what he'd been through in recent months, he couldn't help but think that it was just icing on the cake.

" _Yeah, Peter's been battered and bruised, let's just add an explosion and a wild helicopter ride to the mix, with a little sprinkle of falling debris on top,"_ he thought snarkily to himself.

Thankfully, the helicopter soon righted itself and began descending at a more normal pace once more, soon reaching a height that Peter would have felt comfortable falling from with his passengers.

His injured arm had been shaking almost the entire time, and the arm holding the adults began as well. Glancing down and judging the distance, Peter decided that he would be able to let go of the people he'd rescued without them getting hurt. As he released them, he swung his arm slightly as his fist unclenched, making it so the three webbed adults were out of the way of the chopper as it touched down.

As Peter let go of his own web holding him to the chopper, he simply fell on his rear end, lying down briefly to give himself a rest. His fingers began cramping slightly as he tried to straighten after keeping stuck in one position for as long and hard as he had. The pilot of the chopper turned off the large machine and clambered out, hurrying over to Osborn and the two scientists to make sure they were okay as Peter slowly pushed himself to his feet. When the teenager looked around, he realized the cops and firemen were surrounding them, and one of them pulled out a knife, slicing through the webs Peter had used to keep the three people together.

"Let's get some paramedics over here!" one of the firemen yelled as they separated Osborn and his companions. EMTs appeared almost out of thin air a few seconds later, and everyone who'd been stuck in the lab at the time of the fire was loaded onto a gurney. One of the medics tried to insist that Peter get checked out as well, but the young Spider politely declined.

He swung away, ignoring the EMT's calls to come back. He knew they meant well, but he also knew that he had a doctor available to him if he was actually hurt, and he was just fine with that doctor being the only one to know his identity. He glanced down at his arm, wondering if he needed stitches or not. He did know that he was going to have to sew up his suit, but finally decided that he didn't think his arm needed stitches. With his fast healing, he knew that the cut should be fine within a few hours, and he really didn't want to travel as far upstate as the private hospital was.

As he was swinging away, Karen once again announced that a phone call was coming in, though this time it was from Ned instead of Harry. Peter internally smacked his forehead; he'd completely forgotten to tell Ned that they weren't studying anymore!

"Hey Ned, I don't know if Harry called you, but we aren't studying tonight; there was-"

"An accident at OSCORP," Ned finished. "Yeah, I'm watching the news right now, and dude, you were awesome!" Ned informed him, quietly geeking out.

"You saw it?" Peter asked, slightly out of breath as he swung through the streets, though he was glad Ned didn't sound too upset.

"Everyone did," Ned confirmed. "It's all over the news, Peter," he added.

"I guess that makes sense," Peter replied. "I just didn't see the news trucks or anything."

"J3 News was there covering it in their choppers," Ned explained.

"That would be why I didn't see any trucks," Peter said in slight exasperation. J. Jonah Jameson was the CEO of a news company called J3 News, which operated and gathered their information mainly through air travel. The station covered many of the acts of Spider-Man, though for some odd reason, most of the time the stories were trying to paint the web-slinger in a negative light. Peter didn't know what he'd done to Jameson or his station to deserve such hate and scrutiny, but it didn't matter. Most of the city still considered him a force for good, much to the dismay of Jameson.

"Peter, are you okay?" Ned asked, pulling Peter out of his thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm good," he assured his friend, though he stifled a cough right after saying that. "Hey Ned, I gotta run. I'll see you at school tomorrow," he said, bidding farewell to his friend.

"See ya," Ned replied, ending the phone call. Peter's thoughts were consuming him; what was Osborn doing in OSCORP alone with two other scientists? Where was the rest of the staff? Why had Osborn been in that glass container? What caused the fire?

Suddenly, his thoughts strayed to his aunt, whom he was sure had seen the news. "Karen, call Aunt May," he instructed, knowing that he needed to call her and assure her that he was alright. The phone didn't even fully ring once before his aunt picked up, meaning that she was on her phone, more than likely waiting for her nephew to call, or just getting ready to call him herself.

"Peter," she greeted, relief apparent in her voice. "The accident is all over the news at work; are you okay?" She added the last part in a softer voice, not wanting to speak too loudly and let someone in on the fact that he'd been at OSCORP.

"Yeah May, I'm fine," he tried convincing his aunt. "Just got a cut and a bit of a scratchy throat," he added, knowing that if he lied to his aunt about his acts as Spider-Man, there was every chance in the world that she would catch him, and he knew he wouldn't like the consequences of being caught in a lie to her.

"You should go home and get some rest," May suggested.

"I will, soon," Peter promised. "I just wanna make sure things are okay before I head home."

"Peter," May said, drawing his name out like she did when she was warning him not to push her.

"I'll be good, May," Peter tried assuring his aunt. "I'm not studying with Harry anymore tonight, so I wanna stay out just a little longer, try to clear my head," he explained. "I promise, if I start to feel sick, or anything starts to feel wrong, I'll go home," he added. He could almost hear his aunt chewing her lip, and in the background, Peter heard someone call May's name.

"Fine," she said, though she didn't sound happy about it. "I gotta get back to work, but call me if you need anything," she insisted.

"Okay, May," Peter agreed. "I'll see you tonight," he added.

"Love you," she said.

"I love you too," Peter replied. The call was ended, and Peter once again resumed his swinging. His throat _was_ rather scratchy, so he decided to swing by a park, finding the closest water fountain. He lifted his mask up halfway so that his mouth was uncovered, and he took several long drinks of water, trying to get rid of the scratchy feeling in his throat the smoke had caused. He also rinsed off his arm as best he could while trying to avoid getting his suit completely soaked. Once he'd cleaned off his arm as well as he could, he grabbed another drink before taking off again.

As he swung through the streets, Peter's thoughts kept going back to Osborn; what had he and those scientists been doing, and why had the CEO been strapped into the glass container like some sort of experiment?

 _ **You guys know the drill! Lemme know what you think, especially since I think I've been working on this for so long that I can't really tell what's good and what isn't at the moment XD Are you guys liking it okay?**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**I don't own Marvel, Spider-Man, or Jekyll and Hyde. Please read AN at the bottom after this chapter.**_

 _If we're not one, but two_

 _Are we evil or good?_

 _Do we walk that fine line_

 _That we'd cross if we could?_

 _Are we waiting_

 _To break through the facade?_

When Harry didn't show up to lunch the next day, Peter was worried something was wrong.

"Hey, I'll be back in a minute," he said. Ned looked curious, but didn't ask about what his friend was doing. Peter wandered out of the lunch hall, wondering where Harry could be, if he was even at school. Peter wandered around for a few more minutes, finally turning a corner, stopping short when he realized Harry was sitting against the lockers in the hallway, his forehead pressed against his knees.

"Harry?" Peter asked quietly, walking forward slowly. The new kid looked up, surprise written on his face. Clearly he didn't think anyone was going to come looking for him.

"Peter, what are you doing here?" Harry asked, wiping his cheeks quickly to try and hide the fact that a few stray tears had escaped his eyes.

"I just...we hadn't seen you all day, and I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said as he reached his classmate. Peter put his back against the wall as well and slid down until he was on the floor as well.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry brushed off Peter's concern, though the teenager knew that it was a front.

"Everything okay at OSCORP?" Peter asked after a moment of silence. He didn't have to tell Harry that he'd been there and seen what had happened, but he did want to know what was going on currently.

"Apparently, dad was there with a few scientists and they were working on something; it hit an unexpected snag," Harry explained, wiping his eyes on his sleeve to discourage any other tears escaping. "Kinda sounds cliche, right? The experiment goes wrong and explodes, trapping everyone inside," he said with a hollow chuckle, obviously not even amused by his own attempt at humor.

"How is everyone?"

"There were only three people inside thankfully," Harry said, though he sounded frustrated. "I don't even know what dad was doing there!" he exclaimed suddenly, grabbing at his hair in frustration. "He was supposed to be at home, but he wasn't, and then we got the call about the accident; the security company for OSCORP told us that his card had been used to swipe into one of the secure facilities on the upper floors. He's been keeping secrets lately, and I'd be willing to bet every dollar I have to say that this has to do with at least one of those secrets," he raged. He realized his voice had gotten louder and louder, and took in several deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Is everyone okay?" Peter asked after a minute. He wished he could tell his friend that his father had been in what looked like some sort of experimental container. However, he knew that by outing that fact, he'd be admitting to the fact that he had been at the building, and then it was only a hop, skip, and a jump before Harry made the connection that Peter was Spider-Man. Harry wasn't dumb; he might not have been the most book-smart person Peter knew, but the young Osborn was smarter than he gave himself credit for, so Peter kept his mouth shut.

"Um, there was two scientists in the explosion," Harry said. "One of them, Tessa, I guess is in pretty bad shape, and they don't know if she's gonna make it. Tristin, the other one, is in a coma, but the doctors say they're optimistic that he's gonna wake up soon. Dad is...ahem," he cut off, clearing his throat as he rubbed at his eyes again. "Sorry. Gosh, I don't know why I'm so worked up about this," Harry said, cutting himself off. "The man's hardly ever been there for me; sometimes it seems like I'm more of an inconvenience to him than anything else."

Peter felt bad for his friend, though he could see through the act rather easily. He knew how much Harry was actually concerned. "He's your dad," the young man said quietly. "It's...it makes sense that you're worried about him. I would be," he added.

"Yeah," Harry said with a shrug, still not seeming to want to show how much he cared. "Anyway. Dad got pretty banged up, but thankfully he doesn't have any broken bones. He had a couple scrapes that needed to be stitched up, but he's the one that got hurt the least," the young Osborn finished. "Doctors say it's a miracle that he wasn't hurt more."

"That's good," Peter said. He felt useless; he wanted to comfort his friend, but he wasn't sure how to do it.

"They're all just lucky Spider-Man got there before the fire hit the pipes and blew out the room," Harry added.

"Spider-Man was there?" Peter asked, feigning innocence.

Harry nodded his head, humming "Mm-hmm," as he stared straight ahead of him.

"Hey," Peter said after a few minutes of silence again. "Is there anything you need? Should you even be in school today?"

"Yeah, I just...I needed to get out of the house," Harry said, rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. "It's so big, and it just felt more empty and drafty than normal."

"Can I do anything to help?" Peter asked.

"I don't think so buddy. Thanks though," Harry said, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder. "You're a good friend; probably a better one than I deserve."

Peter was going to answer, but the bell rang, alerting the students that they had five minutes to get to class. Harry stood up and turned around, offering his hand to help Peter get up, which the teenager accepted. Once they were both upright, Harry began walking away.

"I'll see you later, Pete," he said. He turned around after a few steps. "Oh, uh...if you're still good to help me study, I tried looking at my math homework earlier, and it's just a bunch of jumbled numbers and letters," he admitted.

"Sure," Peter agreed. "Just let me know when. And let me know if you need anything else," he added.

"I will," Harry promised. "See ya, Pete."

"Hey Harry," Peter called out before his friend disappeared around the corner. The young Osborn turned around, and Peter continued. "You deserve to be happy, just like everyone else."

A ghost of a smile flitted across Harry's face. He didn't respond; he just turned and walked away, but Peter hoped that it had been what his friend needed.

 _0-0-0_

Norman Osborn twitched in his sleep. His silk sheets were drenched in sweat, and his limbs had become entangled in the bedspread. The doctors had let the CEO leave the hospital, though they insisted that he stay in bed for at least another few days, to make sure that he would be alright.

After another few minutes of thrashing about, Osborn's eyes shot open. He lunged out of his bed, ripping the sheets from his limbs and discarding them on the floor before hurrying to his bathroom. Something felt off, wrong. His senses were all on high alert; everything seemed to be hyper-focused. He flipped the light on in his bathroom and hurried over to the sink, peering at himself in the mirror. Besides his eyes being bloodshot, he looked completely normal. Except...when he looked closer, he saw something strange. While he was a strong man, he'd never been a bodybuilder, and when he inspected his body further, he realized that he was more tone than he'd ever been before.

"Maybe that serum actually worked!" he muttered to himself. Suddenly he collapsed against the sink as his head began pounding. Memories began flashing in his head like a movie, memories of what happened right after the serum had been injected into his body.

 _0-0-0_

"OZ enhancement serum has been injected into test subject Norman Osborn," Tessa said into her recorder. Osborn hissed quietly as the needle punctured his skin and injected the liquid into his veins. It was a cold, stinging sensation, but he put his discomfort aside. Everything they were doing was for the advancement of science.

"Heart rate and blood pressure normal," Tristin called out from where he was watching Osborn's vitals.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Osborn?" Tessa asked, pressing a button to let her speak to her boss inside the container.

"Good," Osborn called back. "A little cold, still," he added.

"That's weird," Tessa muttered. "The temperature in there is seventy-six degrees and rising," she said a little louder so that her boss could hear. "Are you sure-"

Her question was cut off as a blaring noise began to emit from the vitals machine. Tessa's attention was yanked away from Osborn as she looked over at her partner for answers.

"Blood pressure and heart rate spiking," Tristin called out as he began hitting a few keys, trying not to show how surprised he was.

"Get him out of there," Tessa ordered, immediately leaving her position from behind the computer.

"No!" Osborn yelled, stopping Tessa in her tracks. "Risks have to be taken!"

"Not when that risk means losing you, Osborn," she snapped. "Tristin, shut it down!" Tessa walked towards her partner, intent on making sure that her orders were being followed, but a scream from inside the testing chamber, followed by the monotone beep of the heart monitor stopped her in her tracks.

The two scientists looked inside the glass container, their faces morphing into horrified expressions when they saw Osborn hanging limply from the straps.

"No!" Tessa yelled, running over to the container, putting in the code and opening the door. She hurried over to Osborn, placing her fingers on his neck. "Tristin, get me the defibrillator!" she ordered, beginning chest compressions on their boss. She glanced back at Tristin to see where he was, and when she turned her attention back to Osborn, she jumped away in shock.

His eyes were open and staring at her, and a low growl rose in his throat. "Mr. Osborn?" Tessa said timidly, frozen in her tracks.

"I said," Osborn seethed as he breathed heavily. "Leave it alone!"

With a single fluid motion, the CEO ripped the straps off his body, and he stepped down from the platform, advancing on Tessa, who had smartly began backing away.

"Mr. Osborn, we need to get you help," she begged.

"Mr. Osborn isn't home right now," the man said with a cackle. "And I don't need help," Osborn snapped, sounding almost feral. "What I need is more of the OZ serum."

"I-I-I can't give that to you," she stuttered, backing up and tripping slightly as she reached the door to the container. As she stepped out, Osborn yelled and backhanded her, sending her crashing into the computer setup she had just come from. She fell to the floor, her head lolling to the side in unconsciousness.

"Tessa!" Tristin yelled, moving to run forward to his partner. Osborn stepped in his way, blocking the path.

"Give me the serum," he ordered.

"No," Tristin said, though his voice shook. Norman let out a hideous cackle, advancing on Tristin and making the scientist take several steps backwards. In response to Tristin's refusal to give him the serum, Osborn reached over and grabbed one of the smaller machines sitting around the lab, throwing it as hard as he could it at the scientist, who was thankfully able to duck the attack. The piece of equipment crashed into a large server behind Tristin, sending arcs of electricity through the air.

"Where is it?" Osborn hissed, grabbing a surgical table with tools and rubbing alcohol on it. He began throwing the sharp instruments at Tristin, who finally held up his hands in defeat after having to dodge a pair of scissors.

"Fine!" he yelled, pointing towards a cabinet. "It's in there!"

Osborn immediately brushed past Tristin, the rubbing alcohol still in his hands, as that was going to be the next projectile he had thrown if the scientist hadn't cooperated. The CEO opened the cabinet doors, and with a gleefully maniacal chortle, he picked up a vial of the serum and walked back towards the container, needing the injector gun that had put the liquid in his body the first time.

"Tessa?" Tristin asked, completely ignoring his boss as he reached his coworker and friend. There was a crash as the sound of glass breaking reached Tristin's ears, and he looked over with horror in his eyes. Osborn had tossed the bottle of alcohol on the ground, shattering the bottle instantly. The extremely flammable liquid was seeping its way towards the sparking electronics at an alarmingly fast rate, and Tristin knew that he needed to get himself and Tessa out of the room before the place caught on fire.

The scientist looked back at Osborn in time to see the man stick a needle in his arm again, and he felt a sense of dread overcame the scientist. The CEO collapsed almost immediately, and Tristin was torn; Osborn had brought this upon himself, and Tessa didn't deserve to die for his actions, but Tristin also knew that Osborn wasn't himself. The formula had obviously changed him.

Unfortunately, while the scientist was debating about who to save, the alcohol reached the electronic equipment, and suddenly there was a loud _BOOM_. The explosion sent Tristin flying, and he collided with one of the walls. Immediately, the scientist lost consciousness as the fire began spreading around him and the other two in the lab.

 _0-0-0_

Osborn groaned; that hadn't actually happened, had it? The memories felt like an out-of-body experience. He wanted to say that everything he'd just remembered was fake, or bent somehow, twisted out of shape, but he knew deep down that it wasn't. He was the reason for the explosion, and he was the reason Tessa and Tristin were both in comas. He bent down and turned on his faucet, splashing some cold water into his face to make himself more alert. He was reaching for a towel to dry his face off when a crackly voice suddenly whispered in his ear.

" _Norman…"_

Osborn whirled around. "Who-who's there?" he asked.

" _No one's 'there,' Norman. I'm_ here _."_

"I'm going crazy," Osborn muttered as he began searching his bathroom for the source of the voice.

" _No you're not, Osborn,"_ the voice cackled. " _I'm just the part of you that most people keep hidden. You're not going crazy...crazy came to you."_

"That doesn't make any sense," Norman snapped.

" _Think about it,"_ the voice cooed. " _You know it does. You know who I am, and you know where I came from."_

"That's it, I'm calling security," Osborn growled. "They'll find you, wherever you are, and they'll drag you out of my life."

" _Try it, Normy,"_ cackled the voice as Osborn picked up his cell phone, preparing to call his head of security. " _They'll come running, but as soon as they get here, you know what's going to happen. They aren't going to find anything, or anyone out of the ordinary. They'll give you the same diagnosis that you've given yourself, only they'll actually do something about it. They'll call a special doctor, and they'll lock you up to watch you, to study you. Just listen to what I have to say before you make that call."_

Osborn paused, his finger poised above his head of security's contact info. The voice took Osborn's hesitation as an invitation to continue talking.

" _You know yourself, Osborn. I am merely accessing the side of you that you try to keep hidden from the world, hidden from yourself."_

Osborn was going to argue, but his phone suddenly started ringing in his hand, making him jump out of his skin. He looked down at the caller ID, not recognizing the number. He decided to answer it after the third ring, though he wasn't sure if he was mentally fit to be holding any sort of comprehensive conversation.

"This is Osborn," he said, hating how tired he sounded.

"Mr. Osborn, this is Dr. Groff, from the hospital," the person on the other end of the phone replied.

"Doctor," Norman greeted, tensing up slightly at the mention of 'doctor.' "To what do I owe the call? If you're calling to check up on me, you don't have to worry. I'm taking it easy, just like you prescribed," he said.

"That's good to hear," the doctor agreed. "But that's not why I'm calling. I did some preliminary bloodwork to make sure that everything was okay, and came across something strange."

Osborn's skin suddenly broke out in goosebumps; he had the sinking feeling he knew just what the 'strangeness' was, and it was confirmed when the doctor continued speaking.

"There's a foreign bit of genetic strand that has begun attaching itself to your DNA. I'm not sure what it is, or what the effects could be. I'd like you to come in to do some more tests, let me analyze what this is so that we can get a cure created," the doctor explained. Osborn sat there for a moment in stunned silence. "Mr. Osborn?" the doctor prodded when the CEO didn't answer.

"Yes, yes. I can um...I can be there in a few hours," he said.

"Perfect. I'll be waiting for you."

The phone call ended, and Osborn stood there, staring at the phone in his hand. "This is good," he muttered to himself.

" _Normy,"_ the voice inside him said in a soothing voice. " _You don't really believe that; you know that if they make that antidote, if they see what that serum of yours caused, and they find out how it got in your blood? Ooo boy, you're gonna be in for a fun drag through the mud!"_

"What do you mean?" Norman snapped as he got into some clean clothes, slipping a jacket on over his shirt.

" _They're gonna take everything from you. Your company will be dead. You're the one that started that fire. You're the reason those two scientists are in the hospital. You're going to go to prison at the very least. You need me to help clean up this mess that you've gotten yourself into."_

"I...I don't...I don't know," Osborn said, covering his face with his hands. "That wasn't me!" he insisted. "It was _you_ ," he accused. "You're the one who started this whole thing! You...you, you did something to me, you took over my body. That's why I remember what happened, but why I don't remember doing it!"

" _Clever Norman,"_ the voice praised sarcastically.

"So it's not me they need to worry about!"

The voice sighed in disappointment. " _Maybe not so clever. Think about it, Normy. What happens when those two scientists wake up? They're going to say that it was your fault all of that stuff happened. You're going to go to prison and lose everything. Or maybe you tell people that you were experimenting with something you shouldn't have, and you now have someone else living inside you, and they're the ones that started the explosion. Then you end up in the funny farm, and you still lose everything."_

Osborn hated to admit it, but the voice had a point.

" _Or there's the third option. You do what I say, and none of that has to happen,"_ the voice coaxed. Osborn held his breath for a moment.

"What do you need me to do?"

" _Give up control of yourself for now. I'll take care of things; I'll make your problems go away."_

 ** _Dun dun duuuun..._**

 ** _Okay guys. I'm gonna be real. I really do need feedback. Are you guys enjoying the story? Do you want me to keep going? I'm having a hard time with this, because I've read it so many times that it all just sounds kinda jumbled to me. Do you have tips? What can I do to improve the story? Do you guys not like the Goblin story line? Please, please, please let me know._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_I haven't said this yet, but thank you to those of you who have reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. You're all amazing! *hugs*_**

 ** _Still don't own them_**

 _But there's one thing I know_

 _And I know it for sure._

 _This disease that we've got_

 _Has got no ready cure;_

 _And I'm certain_

 _Life is terribly hard_

 _When your life's a facade._

Norman Osborn walked into the OSCORP building, much the surprise of the few lab techs and the building safety team inside.

"Mr. Osborn," one of the lab techs said as they saw their boss walking through the building. "Should you be here? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," Osborn snarled. The tech backed off, looking startled. While Norman Osborn wasn't the most patient of men, or the most polite, he was usually at least cordial. The tech watched as the CEO got onto the elevator, but when the doors closed on the owner of the company, the tech simply shook his head, putting his boss out of his mind as he continued to supervise the cleanup crew. While it had only been the top few floors that really were damaged in the blast, OSCORP wasn't taking any chances, and they were having building experts come in and check out the rest of the building to make sure it was okay.

The entity that had taken over Osborn's consciousness rode the elevator silently. He had access to all of Osborn's memories and thoughts, so he knew exactly where to go to get what they'd come to OSCORP for. When the elevator doors slid open, Osborn observed the scene of destruction in front of him. The lab was completely black with soot and ash, and there was glass all over the floor, though Osborn didn't pay attention to that. He strode purposefully towards the back of the lab, heading for the section of wall he knew was hiding the equipment. No one besides Osborn and a select few other scientists had access to this lab, so Osborn was confident that the glider and exoskeleton would still be there, and when the panel slid open, he wasn't disappointed.

"Beautiful," Osborn said with a cackle. "Absolutely beautiful."

 _0-0-0_

Dr. Groff was staring at the charts in his hands, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Norman Osborn's blood was still mutating, at a much more rapid pace than before. He had kept the test results to himself, not wanting to start a panic, especially if it was simply contained to Osborn. He was also confident that if he'd be able to get more blood from the CEO, he'd be able to concoct a cure; if he could do that, he would go down in history as the doctor who'd found a cure for DNA mutation. He only hoped that whatever was attacking Osborn's DNA hadn't yet begun to affect the CEO.

Still lost in his thoughts as he walked down the hallway towards his office, he barely took a moment to glance out the window at the lovely view of the city. Turning around to sit down, the doctor tapped his computer keyboard, waking it up so that he could log on and continue studying different simulations for the cure. While he was typing his password into the login bar, a reflection on his screen caught his attention.

Whirling around in a slight panic, the doctor held up his hands and screamed as something crashed through the window. Alarms immediately began blaring, but the...the _thing_ on the hovering machine didn't seem to mind, or even notice.

"I'm going to ask you one time," the thing said in a sickly sweet voice. "Give me all the files you have on Norman Osborn's blood."

"I...I...I can't!" the doctor yelled, covering his face with his hands.

The attacker flashed a cruel grin at the cowering doctor. "Pity," he responded, though something told Groff that the attacker had been hoping he'd say that.

 _0-0-0_

The screams were the first thing to alert Peter that something was seriously wrong. He had Karen's sensors set to pick up distressed sounds for a mile radius around him, and usually there were one or two screams; this was different. This time, there were dozens of people screaming, and Peter knew that was never good.

"Karen, can you pin down where the trouble is?" Peter asked as he stepped off the building he had been perched on, falling a few stories before finally firing a web, pulling himself up in the air before he hit the ground.

"The place of panic seems to be coming from Empirical Hospital," Karen replied. Peter's stomach dropped. What could be causing such a riot at a hospital, and why? It only took the teeanger a couple minutes to get to the hospital, but by the time he arrived, the amount of destruction floored him.

A portion of the wall looked like it had been blown up, and Peter figured that was as good a place as any to start searching for either the cause of the drama, or any victims. The blown out wall was only four stories up, and Peter made it up there in record time as he webbed right next to the destroyed window, pulling himself up. He crawled through the window, but he stopped in shock as he was greeted by the sight of a completely trashed office, with papers strewn everywhere and broken computer fragments littering the floor. Then he looked up, and the sight of who was in the room made him feel like he'd been punched in the stomach.

For a moment, he thought the figure floating in the air with his back towards the high schooler was the Vulture, but Peter soon realized that this man was using some sort of...floating hoverboard, or a glider, instead of the wings like Toomes had. The figure was also wearing what almost looked like Iron Man armor, though it was painted with different shades of green instead of red and gold.

"Hey!" Peter called out, making the hovering man turn around. Spider-Man took a step back as he took was now able to see the front of the man. He was wearing a mask, shaped like something one would see at Halloween, like a ghoul, or a goblin. What really shocked Peter though was seeing a doctor in the clutches of the masked man. He hadn't realized that the hovering man was actually holding someone, and Peter's stomach fell when he saw the red stain spreading across the doctor's abdomen.

"Okay, let's just put the nice doctor down," Peter suggested as he walked forward cautiously, not wanting to upset the bad guy. The doctor was frighteningly limp, and Peter wondered if he was even still alive. "I've heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, if well-aimed," Peter said. "There's no need to come in and terrorize the hospital staff, Mr., uh…"

"You can call me the Green Goblin," snapped the man holding the doctor.

"Okay, Mr. Goblin," Peter said, rolling his eyes at the names that some of the people he fought came up with. "I'm sure there's a peaceful way to settle...whatever this is, if you want to just set the doctor down gently-"

"Sorry," snarled the Goblin. "Gotta fly!" With that, the Goblin dropped the man in his hands and whirled his glider around, flying straight at Peter's head. The high schooler's eyes widened, and he ducked out of the way of the glider, barely avoiding decapitation. As the Goblin had been flying at him, Peter could have sworn the man was carrying what looked like patient files. He turned around and was about to jump out after the Goblin, but froze as he remembered the injured doctor. Struggling between the decision to chase after the bad guy, or help save the doctor, Peter chose to let the Goblin go for the moment as he hurried over to the fallen medical practitioner.

"Oh gosh," Peter said as he knelt down next to the injured man, taking in the full extent of his injuries. The red stain was spreading further and further, getting faster by the second. Peter knew that if he wanted to save the man's life, he needed to act quickly. The doctor stirred and groaned as Peter lifted his shirt, blanching slightly at the wound underneath. Knowing he didn't have much time for finesse, the young teenager simply began webbing the top of the wound, hoping that the sticky material would clog the wound long enough for the doctor to get help.

Once he got the bleeding mostly stopped, Peter looked around. He noticed that the doorknob looked like it had been melted, keeping the door shut against the people pounding on it outside. The high schooler jumped to his feet, rushing over to the door and pulling it off it's hinges, revealing the worried nurses and security guards outside.

"Spider-Man?" asked one of the nurses, clearly shocked to see the web slinger inside the hospital office.

"This guy needs help," the hero stated, not bothering to take the time to explain his presence. Still looking surprised, the nurses peered past Peter, and their looks of surprise turned to ones of horror and dismay. They hurried in, calling out for someone to bring a gurney while Peter explained to the security guards what he had walked in on.

"A man on a glider?" one of the guards asked, somewhat dubiously.

"Yes!" Peter insisted, frustrated that the guards didn't believe him. "Check security footage; there's gotta be something on them!"

The guard he had been talking to still looked skeptical, but he didn't argue with the Spider anymore. Peter was brushed to the side of the room as EMTs hurried in, carrying a flat board that they loaded the doctor onto. Once he was securely strapped down, they stood up and backed out of the room. Now that Spider-Man was sure the doctor was getting the best help possible, he lunged for the blown-out window, hoping that he'd still be able to catch the Goblin. However, when he got outside and began climbing up the side of the building, he wasn't surprised to see that there was no sign of the flying man anywhere.

Letting out a growl of disappointment and frustration, Peter turned back to face the building, planning to climb up and swing to the next closest thing he could, but he paused when he looked in the window he was adhered to.

A little girl was inside the room, staring at him with wide, excited eyes, and when she saw him looking at her, she gave him an enthusiastic wave. The look on her face helped Peter feel a little bit better, and he waved back at her. Her grin got wider than Peter would have believed possible, and just seeing the pure joy on her face lifted his heart. He waved one last time at her before he climbed further up the wall and swung to one of the buildings next to the hospital. While the thought of the little girl's excitement did do wonders for Peter's feelings, he was still concerned about what he'd swung in on.

"Where'd that guy come from?" Peter muttered to himself as he crouched on the roof of a business building. "And why attack the hospital?" More and more questions kept flowing into his head, and soon he couldn't focus on one train of thought without making his head hurt. He fired a web at a nearby crane, figuring that a swing through the city might help clear his head.

 _0-0-0_

" _So close,"_ the Goblin hissed angrily. Norman Osborn woke with a start as he heard his companion's frustrated remark; he looked around him and realized that he was back in his bed, though he had no recollection of getting there. He glanced at his clock, shocked to see that the device read 10:30 am; the alarming thing was, the last time he remembered talking to the Goblin, it had been past noon the day before. Whatever had taken place had taken almost twenty-four hours away from him.

His head began pounding, and he put his hand to his forehead, trying to remember what happened. The last thing he recalled was standing in his bedroom, trying to decide if he was going crazy or not for hearing voices in his head.

"My head is killing me," he muttered. "What...what happened?"

" _We were so close,"_ repeated the voice. " _We got the samples and test results for your blood, but before we could find out what room your two scientists were in, and even before we could properly dispose of the meddlesome doctor, someone showed up."_

Memories suddenly began playing once again through Osborn's mind, and he felt physically sick as he watched the events that had gone down. "What did you do?" he asked incredulously, feeling the color drain from his face as he saw them terrorizing Dr. Groff at the hospital.

" _I did what you didn't have the guts to do to keep you out of prison,"_ snarled the Goblin. " _And don't bother telling me you didn't enjoy the rush of power that you felt when I was in control; I know your thoughts, and I know you liked it. You crave; you need it."_

"No, no, no," Osborn muttered, closing his eyes and falling back into the plush chair he had in his room. "I...the power...I can live without it," he insisted, though he knew that it wasn't true. The Goblin was right; he _had_ enjoyed the feeling of power. It was like a high that he desperately needed again. He tried to push that thought away as he continued arguing with the Goblin about his methods. "I thought...when you said you were going to help, I thought you meant you were just going to steal the blood and test results back; you didn't say _anything_ about killing or hurting anyone!"

" _Even if we have the blood and the tests, eye-witness statements and firsthand accounts can still land you behind bars,"_ the Goblin pointed out. Out of the many memories flashing through Osborn's mind, there was one that he paused on; one of a certain red-and-blue clad hero.

"Spider-Man," he muttered. "Did he find out who we were?"

The Goblin sounded almost hurt as he responded to Osborn's question. " _I'm not that careless."_

"No, but apparently you don't mind starting situations that could attract Spider-Man to us," retorted Osborn, frustrated with the voice in his mind. At the Goblin's next words, Norman felt a chill run down his spine.

" _Normy, Normy, Normy,"_ it cooed. " _You said it yourself: 'For advances to be made, risks must be taken.'"_

"No more," Osborn stated, starting to feel slightly panicky. "I can't let you hurt anyone else."

He doubled over with a groan as he felt a sharp pain in his head, and his panic began to increase as he felt himself slowly losing control over his mind.

" _Just one more time,"_ coaxed the voice. " _We just need to take care of a few loose ends, and then I'm gone."_

"No!" Osborn shouted, getting up and pounding his fist on the table in his room. "I won't let you come back! Your time is done!"

A loud knock sounded on Osborn's bedroom door, distracting Osborn enough that he felt the last bit of himself give way to the Goblin's demand.

"Mr. Osborn, are you alright?" someone called from outside. The Goblin, now possessing Norman's body, strode forward and yanked the door open.

"I'm fine," he snarled.

The butler took a step back, clearly alarmed. "Mr. Cogan just called, he wanted to know if you were going to make an appearance at the groundbreaking?"

The Goblin probed Osborn's memories, trying to figure out what the butler was talking about, and suddenly it clicked. "No," he snapped. "I want to be left alone; no one is to disturb me until I give permission, do you understand?"

The butler looked startled, and the Goblin grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him close.

"I said," he whispered ominously. "Do you understand?"

"Y-y-yes, sir," the butler stuttered, shocked at the sudden change in his employer. Mr. Osborn was never an extremely patient man, but this was a whole new level, even for the CEO.

Osborn pushed the butler away from him in satisfaction. "Good," he said. "Make sure everyone knows it, too." With that, the CEO of OSCORP slammed the door in his butler's face.

"Now," the Goblin muttered as he walked over past the bed and stared out the window. "We need to show dear Normy what happens when he disagrees with the Green Goblin."

 _ **Thoughts?**_


	5. Chapter 5

_There are preachers who kill!_

 _There are killers who preach._

 _There are teachers who lie,_

 _There are liars who teach._

 _Take yer pick, dear._

 _Cuz it's all a facade!_

"Thank you all for coming," a man said as he stepped up to the microphone, quieting the crowd that had gathered at the site. "My name is Bryce Cogan, and I'll be directing things today. Despite recent events surrounding OSCORP, Mr. Osborn wanted us to continue with the groundbreaking for this new wing to Empire State University, though he is currently unable to attend," Cogan informed everyone.

Peter shifted from one foot to the other, glancing over at Harry. The young Osborn was really the only reason Peter was here, and not out patrolling the streets like he usually was after school. His suit was slightly stifling under his normal clothes, but he was wearing it so that once the ceremony was over, he'd be able to get out on the streets for a little while at least.

Harry had asked him to come with him to the groundbreaking ceremony for the new section of the university that his father had funded, and while the actual event of sticking the shovel in the ground didn't sound super appealing, Peter had to admit that he got rather excited when Cogan announced what would be going on in the new wing. Osborn had funded the new science building at the University, and they were talking about cutting-edge discoveries, like cross-species genetics, neogenic recombinant testing, as well as a few other studies and experiments; Peter couldn't wait to see the results.

Harry looked over at his friend, a knowing smirk plastered on his face. "Told ya you'd like it," he whispered. Peter couldn't help the dorky grin that spread as he looked back at Harry while the emcee continued speaking.

Unfortunately, the elation didn't last for as long as Peter would have liked. His senses went on high alert, and the emcee's voice faded into background noise. The high schooler whirled around, looking anywhere and everywhere to find what triggered his spider-senses, but he couldn't see anything. He felt Harry giving him a quizzical stare, but Peter ignored his friend for the moment, needing to figure out what was going on.

His confusion was soon cleared up as everyone suddenly began muttering and whispering to each other, and the announcer actually stopped talking. Peter followed the fingers that were pointing towards the sky, and Peter knew exactly what everyone was staring at even before he looked up. Even though he knew what it was, Peter squinted his eyes and stared up into the sun where the figure had appeared, not wanting to seem more unfazed than anyone else. His heart rate accelerated and his stomach plummeted to the bottoms of his feet as he confirmed his suspicion that it was indeed the Green Goblin flying towards the group of people.

"What is that?" Harry asked as he shadowed his eyes with his hand, trying to get a better look at whatever was coming their way.

"Nothing good," Peter replied, slowly reaching for Harry's arm, then grabbing it faster when Peter realized the Goblin seemed to be picking up speed. "Come on Harry, we gotta go!" Peter said, his voice getting more urgent with each word.

Suddenly, as if a dam had burst, the crowd around them began moving and yelling, as if they all of a sudden realized that whatever was coming towards them at such a rapid pace probably wasn't friendly. Everyone began pushing others aside and shoving their way through the crowd as they tried to get out of the way, and the two young men were buffeted back and forth in the chaos. Finally, they were able to get themselves to a thinner part of the crowd, though Peter knew if they waited much longer, they'd be back in the same crowded situation.

Taking a second to glance back as he continued to pull Harry away from the approaching menace, Peter's eyes widened when he saw the Goblin pull back his arm and throw something into the crowd. "Harry, get down!" the high schooler yelled, tackling his friend to the ground mere seconds before the small device exploded, sending gray smoke through the air. Everyone in the path of the smoke began coughing, doubling over as their coughs became worse and worse; thankfully, Peter and Harry had gotten themselves far enough away from whatever had been thrown that neither of them felt the effects of the smoke grenade.

As the two high school students pushed themselves back into a standing position, Peter looked around, trying to figure out a way to get away from Harry so he could get his Spider-Man game on. A huge stampede of people rushed over to where Peter and Harry were standing, which was exactly the distraction Peter needed. He let himself be washed away in the sudden crowd of people, though when he heard Harry yell his name in panic, he felt a little guilty. He pushed those feelings aside though; his main focus for the moment was the Goblin. The madman needed to be stopped, and though Peter felt guilty about leaving his friend, he knew would have to deal with Harry later.

After letting himself be swept out by the crowds for a few seconds, Peter spotted an alleyway that was tucked away in a more secluded spot. He forced his way out of the massive crowd that he'd thrown himself in with, and finally he broke free of the teeming mass of people.

" _It's a good thing you decided to wear the suit instead of just keeping it in your backpack,"_ Peter thought to himself as he stripped down to the red and blue suit underneath his clothes. He reached into his jacket pocket and grabbed his mask, then bundled up the discarded clothes as fast as he could, dumping them in a metal trash can and praying that no one would take the time to pick up the garbage, seeing as how there was a flying man attacking the city. As Peter pulled his hood on over his face, the lenses lit up, and he knew his suit was active and online.

"Karen," Peter said as he webbed the top of the alley he'd snuck into, pulling himself to the top of the building.

"I'm here, Peter," came his AI's calm response.

"We gotta get this guy away from the crowd," stated the young man, looking down at the chaos in the square. The Goblin had abandoned targeting the entire crowd, and was instead flying around in deliberation, as if he were searching for someone in particular.

Spotting a flagpole close to the Goblin's glider, Peter backed up and took a running leap, flying through the air before catching hold of the intended target. He swung around the metal pole a few times, trying to get rid of the rest of the momentum he'd built up from his leap. As soon as he felt that the excess momentum was gone, Spider-Man climbed to the top of the pole and hailed the masked man.

"Hey, Gobby!"

The green-clad villain whirled around as he heard the hailing. "Spider-Man!" the Goblin growled as the red-and-blue hero crouched on top of the flagpole. "Leave me alone!" he spat. "Why can't you just let me commit my crimes in peace?" he asked in a whiny voice as Spider-Man dove towards his glider, firing a web at the bottom of the device. The Goblin took off, trying to knock the annoying do-gooder loose, cackling as he did so, as if he enjoyed trying to knock Peter off.

"I mean-ah!-I definitely could," Peter agreed, having a slightly difficult time speaking as the Goblin continued to swerve from side to side. "But I-oof-think that they might-ah!-take away my-hhnngghh-superhero license if-woah!-I did that," he finally got out.

The Green Goblin cackled as he ducked and weaved, still trying to knock Spider-Man off his glider. The constant cackling of the madman was really starting to grate on Peter's nerves.

"You know, it wasn't really that funny," Peter panted as he fought to hold onto the web attaching him to the glider.

The Goblin's glider was advanced, and Peter hated to admit it, but he was having a hard time not smacking into buildings as the Goblin swerved; the thing responded to the Goblin's lightest touch, meaning he could get as close to the buildings as he wanted, but was still able to swerve away without smashing into the structures, while Peter was less fortunate. The one thing that wasn't as advanced with it was that when it sped up, black smoke emitted from the back of it, right into Peter's face, causing the young man to cough excessively.

"Dude, that thing is _not_ environment friendly," he complained as the Goblin continued to twist and turn. The Goblin turned and snarled at the hero when his efforts to throw the high schooler off were once again in vain.

"You're getting on my nerves," he growled.

"It's one of my...many talents," Peter panted. "Listen, not that I don't enjoy...hanging out with you...but why don't we just go somewhere and talk about this, away from all these nice people?" he called up from where he was dangling, still attached to the web that was sticking to the bottom of the Goblin's glider. They were away from the crowd at the groundbreaking, but they were still in New York. People were constantly around them.

"That's one idea, but let me answer with a counter offer," the man hissed. Blades appeared out of the arms of the suit the man was wearing, and before Peter could do anything, the man had leaned over and sliced cleanly through the webbing, sending Peter careening towards the ground.

His arms reeled for a moment, but he had enough control of his upper body to shoot another web at the glider, catching himself before he hit the ground. He heard the man growl above him.

"Fine, we'll play your way for a little bit," he said, cackling as he leaned over. Once again, the glider responded to the Goblin's slightest touch, and it soared away from the crowded streets, which was all Peter had wanted.

"Cool, I like it when I get my way," Peter muttered, not loud enough for the masked man to hear him. As the glider was flying through the air, Spider-Man had to duck and dodge different buildings that the man on the glider seemed to be intent on running him into, which made sense. Peter began climbing up the web to see if he could get to the top to tackle the Goblin off of the glider, but as he was climbing, he happened to look where they were, and his heart froze in his chest.

In the distance, a familiar green statue was rapidly approaching, and Peter got a sinking feeling in his stomach. Abandoning his attempts to climb his web rope, he tugged on the strand hard, managing to make the glider wobble slightly. When the Goblin looked down, Peter could almost feel the daggers coming from behind the mask.

"It's been fun, Gobby, but I got places to be, people to see," Peter called as he yanked on the webbing again. He pulled with enough force that it tilted the glider off balance, and the Goblin wobbled, pinwheeling his arms to try and keep himself balanced. While the masked man was distracted, Peter seized his chance to get the upper hand, swinging himself around with his feet outstretched, kicking the Goblin square in the chest. His hit did send the Goblin and his glider careening through the air, but first of all, it didn't knock the green-clad man off, like Peter had hoped it would. Second, when Peter's feet connected with the armored chest of the Goblin, it sent shocking pain through both of Peter's legs. In reaction to the pain, Peter's fingers automatically let go of the web he was holding onto, and he began plummeting down towards the pointed crown of Lovely Lady Liberty.

Before he hit though, Peter fired another web and swung to the top of the torch, watching as the Goblin regained complete control of his glider and turned around, making his way back towards Peter. The young man was preparing to jump off the torch and launch himself at the glider again, but a loud _thump thump thump_ caught his attention, and he looked around. His eyes widened in horror as he saw a J3 helicopter coming towards the battling figures. The Goblin seemed to notice it as well, and Peter could almost see the toothy grin under the mask.

"Better catch the five o'clock news," Goblin crowed as he surged forwards, throwing a small, familiar-looking round object at the blades of the helicopter. "I hear the main story is gonna be...explosive!" he cackled. The object exploded as it made contact with the rotating blades, and the chopper immediately began falling out of the sky. Turning his sights from catching the Goblin to catching the falling chopper, Peter flung himself towards the machine and the passengers who were struggling with the door to get out.

Getting the timing right was tricky; one wrong move and Peter could lose his head, so he waited until he had fallen underneath the chopper a little ways, then he spread out the wings the suit had, letting it catch the updrift and allowing the chopper to catch up with him. As the large machine began to fall past him, Peter stuck his hand out and grabbed one of the bars on the bottom of the bird, giving him slight deja vu of just a few days ago, when he'd basically done the same thing while getting Osborn and his people out of the OSCORP building.

He pulled himself closer to the chopper and grabbed the door, yanking it open and revealing not only the pilot, but J. J. Jameson himself.

"Spider-Man!" Jameson yelled, saying the name like it was a vile curse. "What did you do to make this lunatic so mad?"

"Just being my usual charming self," Spider-Man muttered, barely loud enough for Jameson to hear him. Peter looked around as the helicopter continued to spiral out of control. They were getting closer and closer to the water, and Peter knew that he had to act fast if he wanted to save the CEO and his pilot. "Mr. Jameson, do you trust me?" he asked as he grabbed the back of the pilot's shirt, pulling him over to where he and J. J. were waiting.

"What?! No!" Jameson said incredulously.

"Well...that's a little unfortunate," Peter said, rolling his eyes under his mask. The helicopter was far enough away from the Statue of Liberty that Peter knew they wouldn't crash into it and damage the priceless symbol of America, but that did leave them with a different problem: the only place he could really stick Jameson and his pilot to was the base of the statue, but he figured they'd better there than on the ground. "Hold on!" Peter called out, placing his legs against the foot of the helicopter, much like one would see if a swimmer was getting ready to do a backstroke.

Before he pushed off, Peter made sure that he had both men securely in his grasp, and then he vaulted himself away from the helicopter, dragging the terrified pilot and screaming Jameson with him. They cleared the helicopter, and Peter had just fired a web at the base of the Statue of Liberty when he heard a cackle from above, and suddenly something grabbed his shoulders and yanked him up, forcing him to let go of the two men, who immediately began plummeting to what would most certainly be their deaths.

"NO!" Peter yelled. "Karen, web net!" he cried, struggling against the hold the Goblin had on him, firing a large net of webbing that enclosed around the two men mere feet before they splatted on the ground. The net, which was still attached to the strand of web coming from Peter's web shooter bounced; the young man could hear Jameson from down below cursing like a sailor, and if the situation hadn't been so serious, Peter would have honestly laughed out loud.

"Impressive," the Goblin said, though he sounded less than impressed with Peter's webbing abilities. He shook the young man in his arms, causing the strand of webbing holding the net above the ground to slip from Peter's hands. Thankfully, since they were only a few feet above the ground, Spider-Man knew the fall wouldn't hurt Jameson and his pilot terribly.

Peter knew that everyone would be alright as long as he was able to keep the Goblin away from them. Which apparently wasn't going to be too hard.

"Let's go for a ride, huh Spider-Man?" Goblin asked with a wicked cackle as he began flying away with Peter in his arms. Once again, the high schooler had flashbacks to his first encounter with Vulture, when he was dropped in the river. This time though, instead of water, he'd be met with an even more unforgiving piece of cement.

"That's not happening again," he muttered to himself. Thanks to the extra training he'd been receiving from Tony's friends, as well as a few lessons with the billionaire himself, Peter had become more flexible than he'd ever been before, and he was able to kick his legs up over his head, once again connecting with the Goblin's chest. The Goblin still had hold of Peter's biceps though, so when he planted his feet on the glider, he wasn't able to stand up fully, and his arms were caught in between his legs.

Peter grunted, but before he could try and fight off the Goblin's hold on him, the masked villain did something unexpected; with a satisfied grunt, he let Peter go.

Peter fell off the glider with a startled yelp, desperately firing a web up at the bottom of the flying machine to avoid hitting the ground and becoming a Spider pancake. The young man began swinging back and forth on his web, trying to get momentum to get up and kick the Goblin again, but before he could, the glider veered sharply to the right, and Peter flew through the air. Once again, the webbing slipped through his fingers, and the high schooler went tumbling through the air.

The Goblin had taken them over an expanse of trees, which was directly where Peter was falling. Before he could web anything else, the branches seemed to reach up and grab the young man, and soon he was falling through the trees. He reached his hands out, trying to find anything to stop, or at least slow his fall, and finally his hands connected with a thick branch that he was able to grasp tightly, bringing him to an abrupt halt. His shoulder protested as he swung around the branch, though he knew it would have hurt a lot worse if he didn't have super strength. He pulled himself up onto the branch that he'd caught, crouching on the thick piece of wood as he stared up at the sky, trying to see through the thick canopy of leaves.

After a few seconds of looking around, the hair on the back of Peter's neck stood, and his senses told him he needed to get out of the way, pronto. He leapt off the branch he was on, swinging through the trees on his webs as fast as he could. He heard something clatter through the leaves and branches, but when he looked behind him, he couldn't see anything. His spidey senses were still telling him to get away though, and they'd never let him down before, so he kept moving. It was a good thing he did, too, because mere seconds after he heard the clanking noise, a large explosion rocked the trees, and Peter was caught in the aftershock.

The young man was flung forward, along with bits of wood and shattered tree. Every single part of him hit a bit of wood at one point or another during his flight; arms, legs, head, chest. Nothing was safe, though Peter tried covering his head with his arms as he was soaring through the air.

Suddenly, the high schooler's impromptu flight through the trees was stopped when his midsection was slammed into another thick branch, knocking the air out of him. Spider-Man let out a small groan as he hung onto the branch, letting his legs dangle freely in the air as he tried to catch his breath. Arms trembling slightly, the young man pulled himself up onto the branch after a few moments, looking around. He knew he needed to get out of the tree canopy to see if he could still catch the Goblin, even though he knew chances were slim that the man had stuck around.

Peter looked around him; he decided to head down instead of up, since he was only about a dozen feet in the air. He dropped deftly to the ground, preparing to land in a crouch. When he tried to land though, his right ankle suddenly gave out from underneath him, and instead of a crouch, he ended up forcing himself to go into a roll to get rid of his extra momentum. He only finished half of the roll before he collapsed onto his back, staring up into the green leaves of the trees above him.

As he pushed himself up into a sitting position, Peter leaned over and prodded at his ankle, which was the source of the throbbing pain. "Karen?" he ground out. Thankfully, his AI knew what he was asking for, and she immediately began scanning the joint, as well as the rest of him.

"You are suffering from a mild sprain. Your ankle is the only place that's injured though; my guess would be that it happened during the explosion, before the tree stopped you," she suggested. "Shall I alert Mr. Stark and the hospital staff that you're on your way?" she asked.

"No, no, no," Peter immediately vetoed. "It's just a sprain, and with my healing, it should be fine in the next day or two. I'll be fine."

Peter knew that AIs weren't really capable of showing emotion, but if he were asked, he would have described Karen's silence as stony, almost pouting. "Mr. Stark is busy, and he doesn't have time to drop everything and come running every time I face something a little bit bigger than a bank robbery," he explained. His AI didn't still didn't respond, and the high schooler sighed. "If something bigger happens, I'll let Mr. Stark or Happy know," he finally relented. "Deal?" he asked.

"Deal," Karen replied.

"Great. Now, the real question is: Who was that guy, and why did he attack the Osborn-" Peter paused as he suddenly remembered something. "Harry!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and moving as fast as his injury would allow. He webbed some of the branches above him, swinging through the forest again to give his ankle a rest, and he finally cleared the trees. As he glanced up at the skies briefly, he confirmed his hunch that Goblin hadn't stuck around for another round. Peter could only hope that the masked man had decided to go home for the day, because Spider-Man needed to get back and make sure that his friend, along with everyone else who'd been at the groundbreaking, was alright.

Finally, the young man spotted a building that was tall enough for him to swing from, which he immediately webbed, pulling himself towards and sticking to the brick once he reached it. He didn't put much weight on his right ankle, which made climbing up the building slightly more difficult, but not impossible. Once he reached a certain height, he was able to web the next closest building, and he began swinging through the streets of New York as fast as he could.

 _0-0-0_

When Peter finally reached the groundbreaking ceremony, he was slightly surprised to still see a decent amount of people milling about, talking to news crews and cops. Webbing the side of the building, Peter gently eased his way down into the alley where he'd left his everyday clothes. When he opened the trash can lid quietly, he was relieved to see that his clothes and backpack were still there. He quickly pulled his shirt on over his head and pulled his jeans up, leaving his suit on underneath. He wrapped his jacket around him as well, and he barely remembered to take his mask off and stick it in his jacket pocket before he exited the alleyway. He began looking around for his friend, but his friend found him before Peter could.

"Pete, where on earth did you go?" Harry cried, running towards his friend when he saw him. "I've been looking everywh-Peter, you're hurt," Harry suddenly realized as he noticed his friend limping; he immediately abandoned the berating he had planned and hurried over to Peter's side.

"I'm okay, really," Peter insisted. "It's just a sprained ankle."

"How'd you sprain your ankle?" Harry asked in confusion. Peter had to think quickly.

"I think when we got separated, I got knocked down," he explained. "I tried to get back up, but someone trampled over it."

"That makes sense," Harry agreed. "But Peter, where did you go?" he asked again. "I looked everywhere for you once things calmed down a little!"

Once again, Peter was forced to think on his feet. "I uh, think I got hit in the head pretty hard," he said, gesturing to a small knot forming on his forehead from his flight through the trees. "I just woke up a few minutes ago in an alley," he said.

"I thought I checked all the alleyways," Harry muttered, looking at Peter with a confused face. Peter merely shrugged.

"I'm sorry I made you worry," he said.

"I mean, it's not your fault," Harry said. "It's not like you invited that maniac to come crash my father's groundbreaking ceremony. Come on," he added, pulling on Peter's arm gently. "There's an ambulance over here; you should get checked out."

Peter tried protesting, but his friend wouldn't hear it. Suddenly, a cry made both teenagers stop.

"Peter!"

The high schooler looked over towards the familiar voice, spotting his Aunt May running through the crowds towards him as fast as she could. She had to duck and weave around a whole sea of people, but she finally burst through, finding a clear path towards her nephew.

"May," he said with a tired smile, holding out his arms and embracing his aunt when she reached him.

"Peter, are you okay?" she asked as they separated. She cupped his face in her hands, looking over every single detail of his face. "I saw what was happening on the news," she explained. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she asked accusingly, pinning her nephew with a stare. Peter realized she must have seen the J3 news coverage before the Goblin had grabbed Jameson and the pilot, and he knew he had to stop her from talking and revealing who he was.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little bump on the head. May, this is my friend, Harry Osborn," he introduced, grabbing her gently and leading her over to his friend. May seemed to realize what Peter was doing, and she understood.

"Hi, Harry," she said, putting on a strained smile as she shook his hand. "I'm Peter's Aunt May."

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Harry said, smiling back at the woman. "Pete's been a great friend," he added. "I'm sorry I got him caught up in this. If I had known something like this was going to happen, I never would have asked him to come with me," he promised.

"It's not your fault," May assured him. "But Peter, I think it's time we get home," she said, giving her nephew a knowing look. Peter nodded, turning back to Harry.

"Harry, I'm so sorry, but I gotta run," Peter said. "Is there somewhere we can take you?" he offered, not wanting to leave his friend stranded again.

"No," Harry replied, shaking his head. "Thanks, but all these people work for my father; I can catch a ride from any of them. Are you sure you don't want to get checked out before you go?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the waiting emergency vehicles.

"I'm sure," Peter assured his friend. "May's got some nursing training, and she's been taking care of me my whole life; trust me, I've gotten a lot worse injuries than a sprained ankle," he said with a grin.

"He has," May agreed with a look that could only be described as a caregiver's love mixed with annoyance.

"Okay," Harry said slowly. "I guess I'll see you in school Monday, yeah?"

"For sure," Peter replied. "Did you still want to study tomorrow?" he asked, turning to face his friend as he remembered that the two of them had made plans for the next day.

"I mean, I don't want to be a bother," Harry began.

"It won't be," Peter promised, looking over at his aunt for confirmation. "Is that okay, May?"

The older woman looked like she wanted to say no, but she finally nodded. "As long as you're home by ten, I'm fine with it," she said, pinning her nephew with a look that dared him to argue with her. Peter turned to his friend.

"So I'll see you at six?" he asked. Harry nodded.

"That sounds great," he said. "I'll see you then."

 _0-0-0_

The next day, Osborn woke up in his bed again, and this time the memories returned to him much faster. His breathing got faster and faster as he grew more angry with the being inside him.

" _Spider-Man is proving to be more of a problem than we originally thought,"_ the Goblin mused. " _We need to find a way to subdue him."_

Osborn didn't care about Spider-Man at the moment. "How dare you!" he raged at the Goblin. "My _son_ was at that groundbreaking! You could have hurt him, and what would that have gotten you? What did you gain by going there? Nothing!" His breathing was labored; he was more angry than he'd been in a long time.

" _Exactly, Osborn,"_ snapped the Goblin. " _That was just me demonstrating to you how powerful we can be, as well as to teach you a lesson. Hard things have to be done to get what you want. You should know that more than anyone."_

"Maybe that's not the life I want to live anymore," growled Osborn as he placed his hands against his head, as if he could squeeze the being out of his mind that way.

" _Who said that you have control over your life anymore?"_ cooed the voice in his head, cackling maddeningly as Osborn growled.

"Of course I have control over my own life," he snapped.

" _Do you?"_ the Goblin asked condescendingly. Osborn began to feel less sure of himself, and he growled, smacking his hand on the table as his head began pounding. " _You see,"_ the Goblin continued as Osborn struggled. " _I like this life; people are so easy to control, so easy to use. All they need is a bit of fear, a bit of insecurity, and then suddenly, their mind is yours."_

"You're not...gonna do that...to me," Osborn grunted. "I won't...let you."

" _Won't let me?"_ cackled the menace in Norman's head. " _You don't have control over your life anymore, and you know it."_

"NO!" Osborn shouted. "Get out! You won't use me anymore."

He braced himself, ready for the argument with the Goblin to continue, but no retort came. He gently prodded at his mind, trying to see if he could feel the presence of his unwelcome house guest. When he was met with nothing, Osborn felt a small sliver of hope rising in his chest. While he was ecstatic that he had beaten the Goblin back for the moment, Osborn knew that it was just that: a moment. He knew he had to think of some way to permanently quash the Goblin's presence in his mind, otherwise he'd risk losing control over himself for good.

He stumbled over to his nightstand, where the Goblin had stored the files with his blood samples and tests, and for the next few hours, he poured over them, trying to find anything that suggested some sort of cure. After several hours of close examination, Osborn growled. There was nothing in the files about a cure; he needed to get to his lab to see if Tessa or Tristin had anything there that might help him.

Osborn stumbled for the door, barely remembering to grab his coat before he grabbed the knob, yanking the door open. As he hurried down the hallway, he heard voices coming from downstairs. "Harry and his friends," Osborn muttered as he made his way down the stairs.

"Sir?" the Osborn butler asked as he noticed his employer.

"I need you to bring the car around," Osborn instructed. He noticed how his butler flinched slightly, and memories swept through his mind. The Goblin was doing more damage than Osborn realized, and Norman didn't know why he hadn't expected that when he'd handed the reins over to someone who names themselves after a creature of the night.

"Dad?" he heard his son ask. Osborn looked over to the dining room, where he saw his son, Peter Parker, and another kid sitting at the large table. "Dad, are you okay?" Harry asked, standing up when he saw his father's face.

"I'm fine," Osborn tried convincing his son, though he could tell that his offspring didn't believe him. "Look. I don't have time to explain now," he said, sounding irritated. Harry backed down, but he continued to stare at his father as the older man hurried for the front door.

Norman felt jittery as he waited for the car to be pulled around. As soon as it was, the driver got out to open Norman's door, but the CEO rushed for the driver's side.

"Mr. Osborn?" the driver asked in confusion.

"I can drive myself," Osborn growled. "I just need to be alone."

He peeled out of the driveway, leaving his driver and his butler staring after him with concerned expressions, neither of them quite sure what to think of their boss's recent, erratic behavior.

"There's got to be something at the lab," Osborn muttered to himself as he drove the car. "Something there that can help me. That's the only way I'll be free of this monster."

 _ **Thoughts?**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story so far!**_

 _ **I still don't own these guys, at least last time I checked...**_

 _The ladies an' gents here before you_

 _Which none of 'em ever admits_

 _May 'ave saintly looks_

 _But they're sinners and crooks_

 _Hypocrites_

 _Hypocrites!_

By Monday morning, Peter's ankle had stopped throbbing, and the discoloration was all but gone. He walked through the halls of his high school, stopping by his locker to grab his books. As the metal door swung open, Peter felt someone walking up behind him.

"You're looking a lot better than you did on Friday," Harry observed. Peter turned around to face his friend, a smile on his face.

"Uh, yeah," he said. "It wasn't hurt as bad as May and I thought, and it barely hurts now."

Harry nodded, trying to look interested, but Peter could tell the young Osborn was distracted. "Harry?" Peter prodded. "What's wrong?"

Osborn shook his head. "I dunno, man. It's just...I heard...well, people talk, and the rumor going around the school is...do you really know Spider-Man?" he finally asked. Peter's blood ran cold for a minute.

"Ehm, uh, well...I mean, I used to have this uh, internship with Tony Stark, and uh, yeah. Yeah, I met Spider-Man a few times," he said. "Why?"

"I just...I get the feeling that dad's hiding something. Hiding something big," Harry clarified. "I guess I was just wondering if you could maybe ask Spider-Man if he'd be willing to stop by OSCORP and see if everything's okay," he finished, going red as he realized how silly and immature his request sounded.

"Um…" Peter cleared his throat, not quite sure how to respond to his friend. He'd been at the Osborn's when Norman had come down the stairs on Saturday, and the older man _had_ seemed rather off.

"Sorry, it's fine," Harry said quickly. "I get that he's busy, and I'm just being paranoid anyway," he tried, turning around and preparing to walk away.

"No, no," Peter said, grabbing his friend's arm before he could move. "I can see if I can get ahold of him," he said. Harry's face lit up, and he let out a relieved breath, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks, man. I really appreciate it."

"What makes you think your dad is hiding something?" Peter asked as the two of them walked to class.

"I dunno. It's just this feeling I have," Harry said. "Before the accident at OSCORP, he was normal. At least, normal by his standards. After the explosion though, he's been getting more and more distant. Stanley, our butler, even said that dad got physical with him a few days ago when Stanley went up to see if everything was alright," Harry explained. "He's been spending more and more time in his room recently, and uh...this is just staying between us and Spider-Man, right?" Harry asked, suddenly worried that Peter was going to go tell all of his friends that Norman Osborn was having some sort of breakdown.

"Don't worry," Peter assured his friend. "I'm not gonna tell anyone."

Harry looked relieved, and continued talking. "Well, when he's in his room, I...I can sometimes hear him, uh...talking to himself," he said, looking down. "I know it sounds stupid, but it's like he's having a conversation with someone, but whenever we go to check on him, he's the only one there."

"Can you hear what they're talking about?" Peter asked. Harry shook his head.

"No. I can hear his voice and someone else's, but I can't tell what they're saying. Anyway. You know how he ran out on Saturday?"

"Yeah?" Peter confirmed, not sure why the conversation had taken this turn.

"He hasn't come home since then," Harry said. "We checked and we know he's at OSCORP, but he barely answers our calls, and when he does, he snaps at whoever is on the phone," Harry said. "I'm...I'm really worried about him," he confessed, looking down at his shoes as if he were ashamed for feeling concern for his father.

"Hey, it's all good, man," Peter assured his friend. "I'll see if I can get ahold of Spider-Man. He's all about helping everyone, right? He should be willing to go see your dad. He's still at OSCORP?" Peter double checked.

"Yeah. He's been there since Saturday night," Harry repeated.

"Okay," Peter said. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks man," Harry said, surprising Peter by giving him a hug. "I really owe you one."

"Oh, uh...I mean, that's what friends do for each other," Peter said, slightly awkwardly.

"Well, you're the best friend I've had," Harry said, pulling away from Peter and giving him a dead serious look. "Seriously, man. Thank you."

The bell rang, signaling students had five minutes to get to classes, and the two boys looked at each other.

"Guess I'd better get to class," Harry said, turning around and walking the other way towards his first class of the day. Peter continued towards his first class as well, confused by the recent behavior of Norman Osborn.

"At least you know exactly where you're headed once school gets out," Peter muttered to himself as he sat down at his desk.

 _0-0-0_

" _Nooorman."_

"No. Not yet. You can't come back yet," Osborn thought desperately to himself.

" _Norman. Let me out, Norman."_

"I can't! You're going to hurt more people!"

" _You can't stop me, Norman. You know I'm stronger than you're ever going to be."_

"I'm...strong enough...to stop you for...a little while longer," panted the CEO as he struggled against the entity in his mind.

" _You're making me angry, Osborn."_

"So what else is new?" Norman snapped.

" _When I get out, Normy, you're not going to like what I'm going to do. The people I'll terrorize, the havoc I'll bring down on the city, and all of it's going to be on your head."_

"No, it'll be on your head."

" _But I_ am _you, Norman. You know that whatever I do is only going to come back to bite you."_

Osborn was about to respond, but he heard a new voice calling out to him, and the CEO visibly jumped; who was there, and how did they get in without him knowing?

"Who's there?" he asked, trying to quell the panic in his voice. He looked over frantically and saw that he'd left a window open to let in a breeze, and Spider-Man had crawled in.

" _Looks like we've got a bug infestation,"_ the Goblin hissed quietly so that the hero couldn't hear. Norman felt himself reaching for a few vials on the counter, and he briefly remembered what was in the small containers.

"Leave him alone," Osborn insisted. He could start to feel the control he had slipping away, and he fought against it as hard as he could.

 _0-0-0_

"Mr. Osborn?" Spider-Man called out as he crawled through the open window at OSCORP.

"Who's there?" came a panicked-sounding voice. Peter slowly made his way over to where the voice had come from.

"It's uh...it's Spider-Man," Peter replied. "Your son Harry asked me to come. He's worried about you."

"Please go away!" Osborn replied after a moment of silence. "I'm doing this _for_ Harry."

Peter didn't like the sound of that, so he walked along carefully, listening to his spider senses to alert him to any danger. "Doing what for Harry, Mr. Osborn?"

A growl came from Peter's left, and the high schooler prepared to fire his webs if he needed to. "You wouldn't understand. No one will understand!"

Peter snuck forward, getting closer to the voice as he responded, hoping his voice would mask the sound of his footsteps. "I can try to understand, Norman, but you have to tell me what's going on."

His senses alerted him that something was coming, and he easily dodged the glass beaker flung at his head. The glass shattered against the wall behind Peter, and the teenager peered into the darkness. "Mr. Osborn, I'm just trying to help. Let me help you."

"You have to leave," Osborn growled again. "I can't control it much longer, and I don't want to hurt you!"

"Mr. Osborn, what are you talking about?" Peter asked, feeling slightly more worried than he had been before. "What can't you control?"

There was no answer from the CEO, and Peter decided that he'd had enough games. It was dark in the ruined lab, but he simply turned on the flashlight on his web shooters that Stark had installed, shining the bright light into the darkness where he'd heard Osborn's voice coming from. "Mr. Osborn?" Peter asked again, worry for the CEO pushing him forward into the blackness. "Let me help you. What is it that you can't control?"

It was at that moment that Peter's senses screamed at him to get out of the way, which he did, backflipping out of the darkness as a figure came at him.

"He can't control me!" Osborn cackled as he took several swings at Spider-Man, who dodged them easily.

"Mr. Osborn, what are you doing? What are you talking about?" Peter asked, surprised by the speed and the force of the man attacking him. He wouldn't have pegged Osborn as someone who'd be this agile or fit.

"Norman can't come to the phone right now," cackled Osborn. Peter's eyes suddenly widened under the mask as things began falling into place, making sense.

"You?" he asked in shock. "You're the Green Goblin?"

"Give the boy a prize!" Osborn cackled as he continued his assault on Peter. The young man wanted to fight back, and even though he knew it wasn't really Osborn that he was fighting, it was still his friend's father, and Peter couldn't shake himself out of his shocked state before a desk was lifted up and thrown at him. Peter's reflexes tried to kick in, but he was too slow, and the desk rammed into him, pinning the young hero against the ground.

"Bye bye, Spider!" Osborn, or the Goblin, called out. As Peter pushed the desk off of himself, he saw the Goblin hit a button on a band around his wrist before running and jumping out the window.

"NO!" Peter shouted, shoving the desk the rest of the way off himself and lunging for the Harry's father, though he knew he was too late. He looked down the side of the building, getting ready to fire a web at the falling CEO, but to his surprise, he didn't see anyone. Suddenly, a cackle sounded above him, and when Peter looked up, he saw the Goblin flying away on his glider, just putting the last piece of his armor on, which happened to be the mask.

Grunting, Peter jumped out the window and began climbing the side of the OSCORP building after the Goblin, determined not to let him get away again. He got to the top of the building and began running towards the end of the roof, firing a web at a closeby building as he began falling. As he swung through the air, Peter was surprised to find that he was actually able to keep up with the Goblin fairly easily, which made him wonder if the Goblin was trying his hardest to get away. Ignoring his instincts that this was all a setup, Peter pushed on, swinging through the streets after the armor-clad Osborn.

Pretty soon, the buildings began to get shorter and shorter, so Peter was forced to run on the roofs and along the sides of buildings, giving him flashbacks to when he was chasing Vulture's men. Ahead of him, Peter was grateful to see a cellphone tower, which he immediately began climbing as soon as he reached it. He reached the top and saw that the Goblin was just a short ways ahead of him, easily within webbing distance, so that's exactly what Peter did. He fired a web at the retreating figure and pulled hard, bracing himself against the telephone pole to avoid being pulled through the sky again.

He heard the Goblin's startled yell as the glider jerked backwards, and Peter knew it was now or never. Drawing in a deep breath and counting down from three, Peter prepared himself for his attack, waiting for the perfect moment to jump. He finally threw himself off the tower, arms outstretched as he reached for the masked man, trying to get the advantage. The Goblin seemed to sense him coming from behind, though, and he whirled around in mid-air, catching Peter by the wrists and gripping hard.

Spider-Man let out a surprised grunt of pain as he struggled against the Goblin's hold. He tried pulling his hands away, but that did little good. While Peter knew Osborn was strong, he got the feeling that the strength that he was gripping Peter's wrists with belonged to whoever was controlling the CEO, and it felt almost superhuman. Peter felt a surge of panic when he heard and felt his web shooters begin cracking. He kicked his legs up, ramming them into the Goblin's chest and stomach, but it didn't do any good. The man's grip just continued to tighten more and more, until Peter felt like his wrists were on the verge of breaking as well.

Suddenly, the Goblin began rotating his wrists until the tops of his hands were facing up instead of sideways, twisting Peter's arms inward in the process. The teenager couldn't help the pained groan that escaped his throat as his wrists and arms were turned in ways that they weren't meant to turn in. He tried forcing his hands back the way they used to be, but a sickly green gas began pouring out of the Goblin's wristbands, flowing straight into Spider-Man's face.

Though he knew he shouldn't, the young man instinctively inhaled, immediately feeling the effects of the gas. He became dizzy and lightheaded, and his attempts to pull away from the Goblin became weaker and weaker. "Come with me, Spider-Man," the goblin cackled as the hero went limp in his arms. "We need to have a little talk."

Peter could do nothing as he felt the Goblin toss him over his shoulder; he'd lost all control over his body, and after a few moments of feeling the Goblin fly through the air with him in tow, the young hero dropped into unconsciousness.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Okay friends! There's this chapter, and then one more, and then this story will be complete! However, I've already got most of my next story completed, and I've begun working on the sequel to "The Friend of My Enemy"!**_

 _ **Also, I've got Comic Con this weekend, so the update will come on Sunday instead of Saturday.**_

 _ **Still not mine.**_

 _So what is the sinister secret?_

 _The lie he will tell you is true?_

 _It's that each man you meet on the street_

 _Isn't one man..._

 _But two._

"Wake uuup," a voice cooed above Peter. Spider-Man's eyes fluttered open as someone slapped his cheeks. "Spider-Man!" the voice said again, sharper this time. A groan escaped Peter's lips, and the voice above him chuckled. "Good morning, sunshine. How are you feeling?"

Peter struggled to get up, panicking slightly when his limbs barely responded to his brain's commands to move.

"Oh please, don't try to get up," that same cackly voice from before said. Suddenly everything came rushing back to the high schooler, and he struggled to get up again, only to be rewarded with a slight twitch of his arm, as well as a punch to the stomach. "I said stay there," the Goblin hissed before he turned and walked away from the hero.

Peter groaned in pain, desperately wanting to lift his head and stare up into the face of the Goblin. However, the only thing he could do was cast his eyes about, taking in his surroundings. He had been taken to what looked like a parking garage, though it was completely empty. There were pillars placed evenly throughout the space, and Peter began wondering how he could use those to his advantage. Thankfully, Peter could tell that his mask was still on; he could only hope that that meant that the Goblin hadn't lifted the mask and found out who he was.

"Karen?" Peter whispered, hoping to have his AI help him out a little bit.

"Your fancy high-tech suit won't do you much good in here," the Goblin informed Peter; he'd apparently heard the hero trying to activate the suit, and Osborn held up a small remote. "OSCORP really does have some amazing things," he observed. "This fancy little gadget prevents all outgoing and incoming electrical signals, meaning you're a fish out of water," he explained. Peter's heart fell slightly, but he knew that he could still function without the suit's full capacity.

"Wh-why can't I move?" Peter asked, still desperately trying to get any of his limbs to respond, even though he knew he was risking another punch from the armored hand. He heard stomping footsteps as he assumed the Goblin began walking back towards to him, and soon, the green-clad boots appeared in his line of vision.

"You were dosed with a special concoction that I worked up just for you," the Goblin cackled, grabbing Peter's chin and lifting his head up, finally giving Peter a good view of the masked man. Up close, the mask was just as terrifying as he'd previously thought, and he wanted nothing more than to web the face in front of him. "Sleeping gas paired with a temporary paralyzing agent. You are at my mercy," the madman chortled.

"Lucky me," Peter muttered, sort of wishing his captor was able to see the glare Peter was shooting at him from under his mask.

"Lucky you indeed," the Goblin confirmed, much too gleeful for Peter's comfort. "I've got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to offer you, Spider-Man," Osborn/the Goblin said. "Wanna hear what it is?"

"Not really, but I'm sure you're gonna tell me anyway," Peter retorted.

"Right you are," the Goblin cackled. Suddenly, a fist was rammed into Peter's gut again, making the poor kid wheeze. "Stop."

A fist was rammed into Peter's stomach once again, making the teenager groan.

"Chasing."

This time, the fist was rammed into Peter's cheek, whipping his head to the side.

"Me."

On the last word, the Goblin grabbed Peter by the throat and lifted him up; the young man was powerless to stop the armored man, or even lift his arms to grab at his throat to try and relieve the pressure.

Goblin brought Peter closer to his face, and through the yellow lenses of the mask, Peter could see Osborn's eyes, though he could tell they didn't belong to the CEO anymore; there was a deranged, devil-may-care look in the brown orbs, and if Peter hadn't been so occupied by the fact that he was being strangled, he would have felt a shiver go up his spine at the emptiness the eyes held. As it was, the teenager was choking in the Goblin's grasp, and spots began dancing in front of his vision. His eyes were just beginning to shut once more when the Goblin grunted in disgust, flinging the hero away from him. Peter crashed into the wall, unable to control his body to stop himself, though for the moment, he was more concerned with taking in deep gulps of air.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," the Goblin explained as he began pacing back and forth in front of Peter, who had thankfully landed in such a way that he was able to keep the Goblin in his sight. "Because if you don't agree to it, I'm going to kill you."

The Goblin stated it as if it were the most simple thing in the world. Peter would have been glad to make some snarky remark, but instead he kept coughing, still recovering from the Goblin's choking, making him unable to respond to his captor's proposition. The masked villain growled in frustration when the hero didn't answer, and he turned away, taking a few steps away from his captive.

While the Goblin was facing the other way, Peter once again tried to bring his arms up to his face, and he almost cried out in shock and relief as the limbs actually responded slightly. He didn't have much mobility back, but he could feel the control slowly returning to him. He saw the Goblin turn around to face him again, and he quickly made sure that he still looked as limp as before; he didn't want to give himself away before he needed to.

"Whaddya say?" asked his green-clad enemy, holding his hands out to his side.

"What? Take you up on your offer to leave you alone to run rampant in the city?" Peter clarified, trying to give himself as much time as he could for his limbs to gain more movability. "I mean, it's a tempting offer. Ah man, lemme think about it...You know man, I think I'm gonna have to say no this time," he said, very unapologetically.

"Once-in-a-lifetime doesn't offer second chances, Spider," the Goblin growled, his hands clenching into fists at his side.

"Then I guess I'm cashing in my offer," Peter replied snarkily. Peter's captor let out a feral snarl, and he began stomping towards the high schooler, who was still on the ground where he'd fallen after crashing into the wall. "I gotta tell you though," Peter continued as he watched the man come towards him. "You've got the whole crazy, intimidating bad guy gig down, all the way to the determined stomping," he said.

The Goblin ignored the hero's taunts, and he began speaking as he got closer and closer. "You know, I left your mask on because I didn't want to make you a martyr if I had to kill you," the Goblin said as he approached. "But seeing as how everyone will find out who you are once they find your body anyway, I don't think it hurts if I take a sneak peek."

The armored hands reached out for Peter's face, and the high schooler saw his opportunity. He didn't know how much control he had over his limbs yet, but he figured that now was as good a time as any to find out. He brought his hands up as quick and as hard as he could, smacking the Goblin's hands away from his face. He was disappointed to find that he didn't have as much strength back as he thought, though he knew he couldn't let that stop him.

"Ooooh, we've got ourselves a fighter!" the Goblin cackled as he stepped back, watching Peter try to get to his feet. The teenager's arms still felt weak and wobbly, as did his legs, and when Peter finally did get into an upright position, he had to grab onto the wall behind him for support.

Peter looked over at the Goblin, then up towards the ceiling, and he tried firing a web; however, the only thing that happened was his web shooter emitting sparks, and suddenly the high schooler remembered that the Goblin had crushed the web devices when he first grabbed Peter. Letting out a tiny groan, Peter went to move forward, but before he'd even taken two steps, the Goblin appeared in his vision again, grabbing him by what would have been the lapels, had the Spider-Man suit had those.

The Goblin lifted Peter into the air as if he weighed nothing, and though Peter was gaining back mobility in his limbs, he still wasn't strong enough to fight off Osborn's hold. "I can't believe the city thinks you're a hero," the Goblin said in disgust as he looked at the struggling hero in his grasp. "You're weak," he spat.

"To be fair, you did feel the need to drug and _paralyze_ me in order to keep me down," Peter pointed out. "I'd say that means that at least somewhere in your twisted mind, a part of you thinks I'm strong enough to be a threat."

The Goblin growled at Peter and flung the teenager away from himself. Peter flew through the air once again, but thankfully this time he had the ability to put his hands up and block his face, though when he collided with the pillar that stopped him, it was his torso and stomach that impacted with the hard cement, not his face. Peter fell to the ground with a groan, clutching at his ribs; he'd felt several of them crack, though he didn't think they were broken...yet.

He started to roll over, but as he did, he heard a cackle above him. Goblin flew straight overhead on his glider, crashing part of his glider into the pillar right above Peter. The teenager knew what was going to happen next, and he moved as quickly as he could, trying to get out of the way of the collapsing rock, and he was mostly successful. However, one large piece fell and pinned his upper thigh to the ground, stopping him in his tracks. Both his pain and his spider senses were going off like crazy, and for a moment he had a hard time functioning because of all the static and noise going off in his head.

" _What is it with you and your friend's dads dropping large, heavy things on you, Parker?"_ Peter thought to himself as he started trying to crawl out from under the rubble of the destroyed pillar. He managed to get a few inches on his own, even though he knew Goblin was just standing there, watching him with more than likely an amused look on his face. Peter finally pulled himself free of the rubble, his arms struggling with the demand he was putting on them after being paralyzed for who knows how long.

"I applaud your effort, Spider-Man, I really do," Peter heard the Goblin say as he flew over the high schooler. "You're a tenacious little insect, I'll give you that much."

Peter thought about correcting him and telling him he was an arachnid and not an insect, but the Goblin swooped down and grabbed the young man by the biceps and lifted him off the ground. Spider-Man struggled against the hold, but even if he'd had his full strength, the Goblin was strong, and Peter would have had a hard time getting out. He felt the glider start to rise, and he flinched for a moment, thinking that Osborn was going to throw him again, but that didn't seem to be in the Goblin's agenda at the moment.

The Goblin switched his hands from holding Peter's upper arms to once again grabbing his wrists, though this time Peter's back was facing the Goblin. To make sure his hold on Spider-Man was as strong as it could be, Osborn crossed the hero's arms over his chest and gripped them tightly. Peter kicked his legs, trying to do anything to wiggle his way out of the Goblin's grip, but all he succeeded in doing was rocking himself back and forth.

The Goblin cackled at Peter's attempts to free himself, but when he grew tired of the hero's struggles, he simply squeezed his arms, pressing Peter further into his chest and preventing the young man from moving anymore. Peter grunted as he felt the pressure around his chest increase, and he felt his already-cracked ribs protest under the strain even more.

"I think it would be better if we did your unveiling in a more public location, don't you?" the Goblin sneered as he began to steer his glider out of the garage.

"What about...not making me...a martyr?" Peter grunted as he continued his futile struggle against the Goblin. With each passing moment, he could feel more strength returning to his limbs, but he knew it would be a few minutes at least before he had enough strength to fight back. Peter felt the Goblin shrug as he replied.

"People already detest me," he pointed out. "By unmasking and killing you, I will show just how powerful I am, and people will know that the Green Goblin is the name to fear."

"Why are you...doing this?" Peter asked, wondering if the Goblin had some hidden agenda, or some form of revenge he was wanting to take against someone.

"Why?" the Goblin repeated with a cackle. "Do I _have_ to have a reason? You protect people because it's the right thing to do; I terrorize people because it's the _fun_ thing to do."

The Goblin's words made Peter shiver. When bad guys had a reason for doing things, Peter felt like he might be able to work with them, appeal to their humanity, but Osborn...he was doing this just because he wanted to, and Peter knew that there would be no changing the Goblin's mind about his ways. Peter looked down at the passing scenery beneath him, and after a few moments, Peter realized where the Goblin was taking him. His stomach plummeted, and he began struggling against the Goblin's hold again.

Osborn felt Spider-Man's struggles growing stronger and stronger, and he growled, pushing his glider faster.

Peter felt the glider speed up slightly, and he renewed his efforts to get away; he needed to get free before the Goblin got to where Peter was worried the maniac was heading. Despite his best efforts though, Spider-Man was unable to get his arms free before his suspicion of their destination was confirmed.

The Osborn mansion appeared before them, and Peter heard the Goblin cackle as they flew over the large home. "Let's see if anyone's home, shall we?" he asked. A mechanical arm appeared from under one of the wings of the glider, and the Goblin lowered Peter down until the mechanical appendage clamped around Peter's wrist, at which point the Goblin released the hero. Peter heard metal sliding against metal, and he looked over to see a small drawer opening up, revealing a large selection of the round bombs that the Goblin was so fond of throwing.

"No," Peter said, trying to free his arm from the metal clamp. He felt stronger than before, but he still wasn't strong enough to pry the metal completely open, though he did feel it shift slightly. "Osborn, you can't!" he yelled up at the man on the glider.

"You're right," the Goblin replied. "Osborn wouldn't, or couldn't. Thankfully, I'm _not_ that pathetic weakling. I'm the Green Goblin!" he announced as he threw one of his bombs down at the house. Peter watched in horror as the bomb exploded, blowing a hole in the roof of the mansion.

From below them, Peter could hear the screams and confused yelling from the people inside the house, and everyone began pouring out the front door. Peter saw Harry exit the house, covering his mouth to prevent himself from inhaling the smoke, and Peter could almost feel the Goblin zero in on Osborn's son.

"Goblin, don't!" Peter shouted, yanking once more on the metal clamp around his wrist. Unexpectedly, Peter's last yank on the clamp was strong enough to finally break the metal, and the high schooler immediately began plummeting for the ground. Instinctively, he tried firing his web shooters, forgetting that Osborn had crushed the devices.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap," Peter muttered to himself. He twisted around in the air, throwing his hand out as he fell past the roof, finally catching ahold of a piece of the roof still attached to the house. He let out a shocked yell as his shoulder was almost pulled out of its socket, but he pushed past the pain. Looking down, he knew that the drop to the ground was definitely doable, so after another second of hanging onto the roof, he let go and dropped, landing in a crouch that ended with him on the ground. He'd forgotten about his injured thigh.

"Spider-Man?" he heard a familiar voice ask. The hero looked up and saw Harry Osborn staring at him in confusion.

"Harry," Peter croaked out, remembering to change his accent slightly to disguise his voice. He pushed himself to his feet, wincing as his leg protested, but thankfully he didn't fall again. "Harry, you've gotta get out of here," he said, limping towards his friend.

"Why?" Harry asked, backing away slightly. "What's going on? Why is that creep here?" he asked, pointing up at the sky where the Goblin was still flying around.

"It's a long story, but the short of it is I think the Goblin is here for you," Spider-Man explained, hoping that the young Osborn would stop asking questions and just run.

"I can't leave everyone," Harry said after thinking over Spider-Man's offer for a moment, gesturing at the staff standing on the front lawn.

"We're not going to leave anyone," Peter promised. "We just need to get everyone away from here, fast," the young hero repeated. Harry looked from Spider-Man to the staff again, finally nodding.

"Okay," he agreed. "Can we use your webs to swing away?"

"Uuuhhh…" Peter looked down at his destroyed web shooters, his stomach dropping again.

"What happened?" Harry asked, following the hero's gaze to his wrists. The young Osborn's eyes widened as he took in the crushed devices, and Peter waved off the questioning look.

"Long story," Spider-Man repeated. He thought for a quick minute, looking around at all the rubble. "Listen," he finally said, picking up a heavy piece of brick. Thankfully, it seemed like most of his strength had returned. "I need you to get yourself and the staff off the property; use cars, run, I don't care. Just get away from here. I'll give you a distraction."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Peter simply turned and chucked the brick at the Goblin on his glider. After a few seconds, Harry decided not to waste Spider-Man's distraction, and he turned towards the staff, calling for them to get off the property.

Peter's aim was true, and the brick collided with one of the wings of the glider, and though it didn't do much to dislodge the Goblin, it was enough to get the maniac's attention. After throwing the brick, Peter had immediately bent down and picked up another piece of debris, this one being a long metal pipe, which he threw at Osborn as soon as the masked man turned to look at him.

Goblin batted the pipe away with a flick of his wrist, though that was something Peter had expected. He knew that from this distance, he wouldn't be able to actually hurt the man, but he was hoping to give Harry and the rest of the Osborn staff enough time to get away.

Thankfully, when Peter looked back at his friend, he was indeed making sure everyone was hurrying away from the property, and Peter felt a small sense of relief. He turned his attention back to the fight, dodging out of the way just in time as the Goblin threw his own brick at Spider-Man.

Suddenly, the Goblin reached down into his glider and pulled out a round object and tossed it towards the ground. Peter's eyes widened and he ran forward, fingers outstretched to their fullest as he tried to catch the bomb. He felt the small device fall in his hands, and without thinking, Spider-Man turned and chucked the bomb back up into the sky in one fluid motion.

He got the device far away from the ground that it didn't cause any more physical damage to the property, but the aftershock of the explosion did throw Peter back several feet. The young man landed on his back, and though he was sore and desperately wanted to just lay there and sleep for a week, he kicked himself back up, preparing to face Osborn again.

However, when he made it back to an upright position, Peter saw that the Goblin had turned his attention away from the hero, focusing on something behind Peter. The teenager turned, and his heart suddenly felt like it was stuck in his throat. Harry had turned back after making sure the staff got away, and had taken a few steps back towards the fighting couple, which the Goblin noticed. Osborn immediately began flying away from Peter and towards the other teenager, and Peter saw sharp prongs appear from the bottom of the glider.

"NO!" Peter shouted, taking a few running steps and lunging in front of Harry, pushing the young man out of the way right before the glider collided with him. Peter expected to feel the sharp prongs pierce his stomach, but when he was slammed against the side of the house without the pain, he looked down and realized that the prongs had simply pinned the young man under the arms and around his chest, keeping him stuck to the brick. "Harry…" Peter grunted as he struggled to draw in breath. "Run!"

"A bold move, Spider-Man," the Goblin said, actually sounding slightly impressed, if also disgusted with how noble the young arachnid was being. "But futile," he added. Another mechanical arm identical to the one that had held onto Peter earlier sneaked out the other side of the glider and grabbed the young Osborn as he tried to run. The arm flung Harry around and smacked him into the side of the house next to Peter and pinned him there as well.

Peter could tell that Harry was unconscious, and he almost felt relieved. At least Osborn's son wouldn't have to see his father do whatever he had planned. Even though Peter knew it wasn't actually Osborn acting out the atrocities, it was his face, and Peter didn't know how Harry would be able to handle that revelation at the moment.

"I've got an idea," the Goblin said, drawing Peter's attention back to the man. "I'm going to let Osborn be in on this little conversation, just so he can see what happens when he fights against me," the Goblin cackled as he raised the mechanical arm holding the young Osborn. Harry was limp as he was lifted up, and Peter heard a _snick_ as another blade appeared from the Goblin's wristbands. Spider-Man knew he had to do something.

"Mr. Osborn," Peter called out immediately, still fighting against the glider pinning him to the side of the house. He knew he had to get through to the CEO, otherwise it would be too late for Harry. "Mr. Osborn, if you can hear me, your son needs your help!" he called out, pushing down on the glider to try to get free. He felt the machine budge slightly, and his heart leapt as he realized he only needed to push a little more.

"Shut up!" hissed the Goblin. Peter ignored the Goblin's angry words, instead choosing to try and get through to the real Norman Osborn.

"You can't let the Goblin win this easily; Harry needs you, and if you don't take control of your own body again, you're going to lose yourself, and your son, for good!" he cried.

"Noooo…" the Goblin grunted, placing his hands against his helmeted head as if he were trying to stop a massive headache. "You...can't…"

Letting out a pained yell, Osborn's form doubled over on the glider, still clutching at his head. Suddenly, the CEO's head snapped up, and when he looked around, the high schooler couldn't tell if they were facing the CEO or his maniacal counterpart. That question was soon answered though as the man began speaking.

"H...Harry?"

The voice was normal, not cackly and splintery like the Goblin's was.

"Mr. Osborn?" Peter asked, just wanting to make sure. Osborn's head snapped towards the hero, as if he were just alerted to the Spider's presence.

"Spider-Man?"

"Mr. Osborn, you have to help Harry!" Peter said, using one hand to point towards the CEO's son. Osborn looked over at Harry again as if just realizing what was happening to his son, who was beginning to stir.

Peter used Osborn's distraction as the perfect opportunity to finally free himself from the grasp of the glider. He shoved as hard as he could, and he was able to get himself unpinned from the wall. The mechanical arm that had been holding Harry suddenly released the teenager, but thankfully Peter's reflexes took over and he front flipped so that he landed right underneath his friend to catch him.

As Peter gently lowered his friend to the ground, making sure that he didn't smack his head as he laid flat, Peter heard the whirring of the Goblin's glider, and he looked over at the CEO.

"I have to leave," Osborn said, almost to himself. "I...I can't stay here. I have to get help."

"Mr. Osborn, wait," Peter insisted, standing back up and facing his friend's father. "Stay here, answer for what you've done, and you can get help here."

"I can't," Osborn insisted. "If the Goblin comes back, I know he won't hesitate to kill Harry; I can't let him do that. I need to remove myself from Harry's life, at least until I can either get rid of the Goblin, or learn to control him."

"Running away isn't the answer!" Peter said loudly, clearly frustrated. "You can't just leave your son here alone!"

"It's the best way to keep him safe," Osborn said, looking down. Peter could almost see the dramatic pout on the man's face, and his patience broke.

"That's crap, and you know it," he snapped. "You're just choosing to take the easy way out by avoiding all responsibility, both as a CEO who made mistakes, but also as a father who can't face his son."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Osborn growled, turning on Spider-Man with his fists clenched. "You don't know the extent you'd go to save a son, do you?"

"Seeing as how I don't have kids, no. No I don't," Peter agreed. "But I do have people I love, and I know that your son would rather have you here so you can work on repairing your relationship."

"How I deal with my family affairs is none of your concern, Spider-Man," Norman yelled. A groan sounded from the ground, and when Peter glanced down at Harry, Osborn took advantage of his distraction and surged forward. Peter's senses gave him enough warning to duck out of the way of the punch aimed for his face, but the Goblin seemed to have anticipated that, and he released another bit of gas from his glider, spraying it right into Peter's face.

The hero clutched at his throat as he began coughing again, though thankfully he stayed conscious and kept control of his limbs this time. The gas was asphyxiating him though, and he collapsed to his knees as he struggled to breathe. From above him, Peter could hear Osborn speaking.

"I'm sorry, Spider-Man. But I can't have you getting in my way. I need to do this for Harry and myself. Once I'm better, I'll come back."

The next time Peter looked up, Osborn was a speck in the sky as he flew away, and the teenager closed his eyes in disappointment. He looked over at his friend, still lying unconscious on the ground next to him, and he couldn't help the feeling of pity as he thought about Harry's reaction to finding out his father had left him; the worst part would be that Harry wouldn't understand why. Peter wasn't going to tell Harry that his father was the Green Goblin; that would crush the young man even more, and it wasn't Peter's secret to tell.

Suddenly, a distant _thwap thwap thwap_ got closer and closer, and when Peter looked up, he saw a helicopter coming their way. Knowing he needed to get away, Peter quickly situated Harry so that he would be comfortably seated when he woke up before Spider-Man turned and ran for the side of the house, where he could stay out of sight for the time being.

Emergency staff hopped out of the chopper and hurried over to the unconscious Osborn, and when Peter was sure that his friend was going to be taken care of, he turned and climbed the side of the house, melting into the darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Okay...here we go. The last chapter. I hope you guys are okay with how I ended it :)**_

 _ **I don't own these guys, or the lyrics to Facade.**_

 _At the end of the day,_

 _They don't mean what they say_

 _They don't say what they mean,_

 _They don't ever come clean._

 _And the answer_

 _Is it's all a facade_

 _..._

 _Man is not one, but two!_

 _He is evil and good_

 _And he walks the fine line_

 _We'd all cross if we could_

 _It's a nightmare we can never discard_

 _So we stay on our guard,_

 _Though we love the facade_

 _What's behind the facade?_

 _Look behind The Facade._

Peter swung through the streets, eternally grateful to Tony Stark for fixing his web shooters. As Peter had promised Karen, he told the billionaire what had happened, and while Stark raised his eyebrows slightly when the kid explained what had happened, he (thankfully) didn't lecture Peter.

Images of what happened kept flashing through Peter's mind, and he growled in frustration. J3 News had covered what had happened at the mansion, and since the explosive devices were the same that the Goblin had used, they were able to put two and two together, though no one knew why the Goblin had attacked the Osborn mansion. Jameson was also trying his hardest to convince the public that Spider-Man was working with the Goblin, and had been at the manor as well, therefore he was "A menace to our society," though not many people seemed to be taking much stock in the accusations.

When Jameson wasn't throwing verbal rocks at Spider-Man, he actually did a decent job reporting the news. According to him, Norman Osborn hadn't been seen anywhere, and people were starting to wonder if something had happened to the CEO.

" _Something happened alright,"_ Peter thought to himself. " _Just not something that anyone would think of, or even believe."_

Every night since the attack, the news had been covering the progress of the story, and every night, it was always the same. They had no idea why the Goblin attacked the mansion, or what made him leave, and they had absolutely no clue as to where the CEO could possibly be. People were beginning to wonder if he'd been captured by the Goblin and was being held somewhere for ransom, but the police were insistent that they didn't think that was the case. Peter agreed with them, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the cops had a legitimate reason for not believing that Osborn had been kidnapped, and he was curious to see what their reasoning was.

"Incoming call from: Harry Osborn," Karen announced, disrupting Peter's thoughts. His heart leapt; It had been almost a week since the fight at the Osborn mansion, and Peter hadn't seen his friend at all. He hadn't shown up to school, he hadn't answered any of Peter's calls, and one day when Peter actually stopped by the mansion while it was under repairs, the butler told him that Harry didn't want to be disturbed.

Immediately, Peter grabbed hold of a nearby fire escape and swung around, sitting on the steps as he answered the call.

"Harry?"

"Hey Pete," came his friend's tired, and slightly upset-sounding reply.

"What's goin' on, are you okay?"

"I've been better. Listen, could you stop by the house?"

Peter glanced at his watch; it was a little after 5:30, and he knew May wasn't going to be home until 8 or later, so he replied, "Yeah, I can be there in like, thirty minutes. What's up?"

"I'd rather wait until you get here," Harry said.

"Okay," Peter replied. "Need me to pick anything up?"

"No, I'm good," Harry assured his friend. "Thanks though. I'll see you in a few."

"See ya."

After the phone call ended, Peter sat on the fire escape for a few more minutes, wondering what Harry was thinking.

 _0-0-0_

"Mister Parker, welcome," the butler said as he answered the door, stepping aside to let the young man in. As Peter passed under the large doorframe, he had to sidestep the large ladder and sheet of plastic hanging down. "Apologies for the mess," Stanley continued, leading Peter towards the dining room. "As you've probably heard, we had a bit of a...forced renovation," he added.

"It's fine," Peter replied, stepping over some wood that had been left on the floor. As Peter followed the butler into the dining room, he noticed Harry, who stood up from where he was sitting at the table. "Hey Pete," the other teenager said, walking forward and grabbing his friend in a tight hug. After a stunned moment, Peter returned the gesture. "Thanks for coming," Harry added as he took a step back. He sat back down in the seat that he'd vacated when Peter walked in, then gestured for his friend to take another chair.

As Peter settled down, he studied his friend's face. The young Osborn looked tired; he had dark circles under his eyes, and his face looked slightly less filled out than it had the last time Peter had seen him. "Harry, what's goin' on?" Peter asked.

"A lot," replied Harry with an empty chuckle. "There's so much going on, I don't even know where to start. Tessa's dead," he added, making Peter flinch slightly. "Her injuries were too severe, and she passed away last night."

"I'm so sorry," Peter said, to which Harry replied with a shrug.

"I mean, it's not like I knew her or anything," he said.

"What about the others?" Peter asked. J3 had covered what had happened at the hospital, so the world knew about the attack on the doctor.

Harry shook his head. "They're both alive, and Tristin is awake, but he says he can't remember anything. The doctor woke up briefly, and all he could say was that a masked man attacked him, and since we all already know that's what happened…"

"It doesn't really give anyone much to go on," Peter finished.

"Exactly."

There was a slightly awkward silence, then Peter looked around, deciding to change the subject. "So...you've had a busy week," he commented. "What really happened?" he asked, even though he already knew. "J3's been covering it, but I sometimes find it really hard to believe anything Jameson has to say."

"No kidding," Harry said with a chuckle. "Uh, there was...there was a fight," he finally replied.

"A fight?"

"Uh huh. Spider-Man and that, um...Green Ghoul guy, or something like that," Harry explained.

"Green Goblin?"

"Yeah, him. Anyway, the Goblin attacked the house, but Spider-Man was able to get us all out before anyone got hurt. It's a long story, and I'll have to tell you another time. That's not why I asked you to come over," he said. "This is."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, unlocking it before handing it over to Peter. When Peter accepted the device, he realized that it was opened to the phone's voicemail system, and the message at the top sent a small shiver through Peter's body. The most recent message was from just a day after the incident at the Osborn Mansion, but the fact that the name the message was from was "Dad" was what stunned Peter. He looked at his friend, who motioned for him to listen to what the message had to say. The high schooler clicked on the message and put the phone up to his ear, listening to what Norman Osborn had to say.

" _Harry. Harry, I'm so...I'm so sorry. I have to...I have to leave for a little while, but I promise you, I will be back. This is for your safety, son. Know that I wouldn't do this unless I felt like I had no other choice. There's...something that I have to take care of, and I can't do that without putting you in danger. I promise you that as soon as I do get rid of it, I will come home. You have my word, and you know that I've never made a promise that I haven't kept._

 _I know I don't say this nearly enough, Harry, but I...I love you. I love you, son, more than you'll ever know, and that's why I have to leave. If I stayed, I would only be putting you in harms way, and if anything ever happened to you, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I have to go now, but I'll try and get ahold of you when I can. Goodbye, son. Stay safe."_

The message ended after that, and when Peter looked over at Harry, he could see the shining of tears threatening to escape his friend's eyes. "Harry, man. I'm so, so sorry," Peter said, not sure how to respond to his friend's trouble.

"I mean...if he really did love me, why didn't he just tell me what's going on? We could have worked through whatever it was together," Harry said, trying to hold back in the anger in his voice, though Peter could hear his friend's voice shaking with the effort. Or maybe it was the effort of holding back the tears.

"Have you tried finding him?" Peter asked quietly. Harry nodded, but Peter could tell by his friend's expression that their search hadn't been successful.

"Whatever he'd doing, he's on his own," Harry replied bitterly. "We can't get a trace on his cell phone, no one's seen him, and he hasn't gotten ahold of any of us since this call."

"So...what are you going to do?"

Harry took in a deep breath. "I...one of my aunts, my mom's only sibling, is coming in from Colorado; she's my legal guardian in dad's trust if anything was to happen to him, and since it's been a week, the lawyers have decided that I need someone to look after me, at least for a little while."

"Is this why the cops are saying they don't think there was any sort of foul play?" Peter asked as he handed back his friend's phone. Harry nodded again.

"We showed the message to them, and they're the ones that tried tracing his phone. They promised to keep us in the loop, at least for the critical points of the case, as long as we promised to do the same to them."

Peter nodded, not sure of what to say. He looked over at his friend, and finally asked a question. "Why are you telling me?"

Harry ducked his head a little, as if he were ashamed of his answer. "I...I had to tell someone, and you're the only friend I've got, Pete. I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather tell, and...I dunno, I guess that's it," he finished. "Sorry," he added. "That was really sappy. I don't know what's going on with me lately. First I ask you about Spider-Man, now this, I'm really sorry, man. It's not fair for me to keep dragging you into my stupid family matters, and-"

"Harry," Peter interrupted. The young Osborn looked at Peter, shutting his mouth as Peter continued. "Don't ever feel bad about coming to me if you need help," he insisted. "That's what friends are for, isn't it?"

"I guess…" Harry said quietly. "Thanks, man," he finally said.

"Anytime. Do you guys need help with anything?" Peter asked as he looked around, gesturing at the house.

"Oh, no. We've got everything covered, and the crew said it's only gonna take a few more days to get everything done. They've been working basically 24/7."

"Wish we could get some of them working on all the construction around the city," Peter joked, glad to see a smile crack on Harry's face. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

The two of them chuckled for a moment, then Peter looked down at his watch.

"You need to get going?" Harry asked.

"Probably," Peter replied apologetically. "May gets home in a little bit, and it's my turn to cook dinner tonight," he explained.

"No worries," Harry said as the two of them stood up and began walking towards the front door. "Thanks again for stopping by, Pete. It...it means a lot."

"Sure, Harry. Let me know if you need anything else," Peter said as they reached the door and he grabbed the handle.

"Will do. I'll probably be back at school sometime next week," Harry added.

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" Peter asked. He'd been wondering if Harry would even be coming back to Midtown Tech, or if he was going to go back to being homeschooled.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "I like it there. Besides, it'll be a good way for me to get out of the house, and hopefully have a bit of a distraction from all this," he added, gesturing around him. "And just wait till you meet my aunt. You'll figure out that you'd want to get away from her too," he said in a conspiratorial whisper, making Peter laugh again. "Anyway," Harry said, giving Peter another hug. "Thanks again for coming by."

"Anytime. I'll see you at school."

"Hey, do you need a ride back to your apartment?" Harry suddenly asked as he realized how dark it was, and when he realized his friend had probably walked and caught the train.

"No, I'm good," Peter assured Harry. "I don't mind the walk."

"It's no problem," Harry said. "Stanley can drive you wherever you need to go."

"Seriously, I'll be good," Peter replied. "Thanks, though."

Harry looked slightly skeptical, but he finally nodded. "Okay, if you're sure."

"I'm sure," Peter promised. He walked out the door and down the large front steps, turning and waving at Harry, who was still standing in the doorway. As the high schooler continued walking away, his head felt like it was spinning with the new information he'd just gotten. He knew that he couldn't do much of anything for Osborn at the moment; that would have to be done by the police, though Peter knew that if Osborn didn't want to be found, it would be difficult to find him. He just hoped that if Osborn did come back, it would be as Harry's father, and not as the Green Goblin.

 _ **So...there it is... what do you all think?**_

 _ **If you enjoyed the story, please feel free to leave a comment, or if you have constructive criticism on how you think I can improve, feel free to leave that in the comments as well.**_

 _ **Thanks again so much for reading! It means a lot to me :)**_


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